Hello, my son is 3 years old and has congenital muscular torticollis. He wants to have surgery.

Patient's question:

3 years old

Doctor's answer:

For children aged 1 to 6, a horizontal incision is made on the clavicle. The contracted superficial cervical fascia and omohyoid muscle are incised, exposing the contracted sternocleidomastoid muscle's sternal head and clavicular head, which are then transected to allow the head to tilt toward the healthy side and the mandible to tilt toward the affected side, achieving overcorrection.
For children over 6 years old with severe contracture, an orthotic helmet is worn. Two rubber bands are attached to the top edge of the helmet on the healthy side, and then secured to the axilla, causing the head to tilt toward the healthy side and the mandible to turn toward the affected side.
For older children, postoperative cervical collar traction is also applied, maintained for 3 to 4 weeks, along with strengthening neck function exercises.