Surgery Better than Retardation

Dr. Ian Munro, a plastic surgeon at the University of Toronto, is one of a handful of doctors in the world who can take apart and then rebuild the skulls of infants with Crouzon's disease. The head of a child who suffers from this condition becomes so misshapen that it puts extreme pressure on the brain, ultimately causing retardation. The painful operation often involves breaking as many as 90 percent of the patient's skull and facial bones, but who would argue that retardation is preferable to surgery?