Craniosynostosis – the coronal suture has prematurely fused My ten month old grandson is a happy, quick, engaging little fellow who was born with the plates of his skull fused together prematurely. As a result, he is facing major surgery to cut the plates and reshape his head which has grown lopsided. Emmett’s surgery is on Wednesday Nov. 19 at 9am Eastern Standard Time . The surgery will take between 5-7 hours, but it could take up to 10 hours. Details of the surgery are as follows: an incision is made from ear to ear, the skull is removed from the orbital bone to the centre of the head. After the neurosurgeon removes a piece of his skull that has fused prematurely, a plastic surgeon will reshape the skull. Then the surgeon will put it back together using plates and screws which are made of a dissoluble substance. They use between 150-200 screws. read more