"Sincipital" is a word many parents have never seen before a diagnosis. It simply refers to a group of anterior (front-of-head and face) encephaloceles. This article decodes the terminology.
What "sincipital" means
Sincipital encephaloceles are anterior encephaloceles that emerge around the front of the skull where the forehead, nose, and eye region meet. They protrude externally (you can see them), which distinguishes them from basal encephaloceles, which protrude internally toward the nose/throat.
The subtypes
Sincipital encephaloceles are usually divided by exactly where they exit:
- Nasofrontal — between the forehead bone and the nasal bones (at the bridge area).
- Nasoethmoidal — emerging lower, beneath the nasal bones, toward the nasal cavity.
- Naso-orbital — extending toward the eye socket (orbit).
All of these are forms of the frontoethmoidal/anterior family discussed in the frontal encephalocele article, and they share similar themes: visible facial involvement, frequent wide-set eyes (hypertelorism), and the need for combined neurosurgical and craniofacial repair.
Regional note
Sincipital encephaloceles are notably more common in parts of Southeast Asia than in Western countries. This geographic difference is part of why the "typical" encephalocele looks different depending on where in the world the information comes from.
What outlook generally looks like
Like other anterior encephaloceles, sincipital types tend to involve smaller amounts of brain tissue than occipital ones, so the neurological outlook is often more favorable, with the main work being facial reconstruction. As always, the individual imaging — sac contents and brain formation — drives the real outlook.
Sources
- StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf) — Encephalocele (sincipital subtypes)
- ScienceDirect (Topics) — Encephalocele overview
- NORD — Encephalocele
- Journal of Integrative Neuroscience — craniofacial encephalocele management