Increased head circumference

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Skull of a newborn

Overview

Treatment

Increased head circumference

Alternative Names:

Macrocephaly

Call your health care provider if:

Macrocephaly is usually discovered by the health care provider during a routine well-baby exam.

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

The medical history will be obtained and a physical examination performed.

Medical history questions documenting increased head circumference in detail may include:

Time pattern
- When did you first notice that the baby's head seemed large?
- Does the baby's head size seem to be increasing faster in proportion to the growth of the body?
Location
- Does the head seem larger all over?
- Is the head growing more in a front-to-back pattern or in a side-to-side pattern?
Other
- What other symptoms are also present (especially changes in brain or nervous system functions)?

Physical examination may include repeated measurements of the head circumference over a period of time to confirm that the head circumference is significantly increased. In some cases a single measurement is sufficient to confirm a significant increase.

Diagnostic tests may vary depending on the suspected cause, but often include:

After seeing your health care provider:

If a diagnosis was made by your health care provider of the cause of increased head circumference, you may want to note that diagnosis in your personal medical record. You may also want to document your own measurements of the head circumference.

Review Date: 12/1/2005
Reviewed By: Daniel Rauch, MD, FAAP, Director, Pediatric Hospitalist Program, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, NYU School of Medicine, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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