Signs, Symptoms & Clinical Features
Suture diastasis (splayed sutures)
Suture diastasis is widening or separation of the joints between a baby's skull bones, which can occur with raised pressure or rapid head growth.
In short: Suture diastasis (splayed sutures)
- It is widening of the joints between the skull bones.
- It can occur with raised intracranial pressure.
- It allows the infant skull to expand.
- It is one of the signs of hydrocephalus in babies.
What it is
Suture diastasis (or splayed sutures) is widening or separation of the cranial sutures — the fibrous joints between a baby's skull bones. It can occur when pressure inside the skull rises or the head grows rapidly.
Understanding Suture diastasis (splayed sutures)
In babies, the skull bones are joined by sutures that allow the skull to grow. When intracranial pressure rises or the head enlarges rapidly (as in hydrocephalus), these sutures can widen or split apart, which is part of how the infant skull accommodates the increased volume. Splayed sutures can sometimes be felt on examination or seen on imaging, and they are one of the signs — along with a bulging fontanelle, rapid head growth, and prominent scalp veins — that suggest raised pressure in an infant. They are assessed as part of the overall picture.
Why it matters
Understanding suture diastasis helps families see how a baby's skull can expand under pressure by widening its sutures, and why this finding is one of the signs that prompts evaluation for hydrocephalus.
Common questions
What is suture diastasis?
Widening or separation of the joints between the skull bones.
Why does it happen?
Raised pressure or rapid head growth can widen the sutures.
Is it a sign of hydrocephalus?
It is one of several signs in infants.
Bottom line
Suture diastasis is widening of the joints between the skull bones, a sign of raised pressure or rapid head growth in babies.
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