Complete Unilateral Clefts Of Lip Research Articles

Lips and noses in 10-year old patients with repaired complete unilateral clefts of lip, alveolus, and palate. A prospective three-centre study of the Baltic Cleft Network

This multicenter study aimed at comparing different techniques of lip and nose repair with or without NAM and primary anterior rhinoplasty in pre-adolescent children.Patients with unilateral clefts of lip, alveolus, and palate who had undergone cleft lip and nose repair were evaluated in a prospective three-centre study using standardized monochromatic, cropped photographs. Four cleft surgeons evaluated the aesthetics of the central part of the face when the patients had reached age ten years.Seventy-six sets of photographs out of 87 patients were evaluated. The overall ratings of lips and noses did not differ much between centres. However, noses of centres 1 (mean 0.74; SD 0.57) and 2 (mean 0.76; SD 0.60) had been rated better than centre 3 (mean 1.32; SD 0.78; p = 0.0078), especially “Deformation of upper part of nostril rim or poor position of alar cartilage”. Centre 3 had produced better looking scars (mean 0.33; SD 0.48); p = 0.0036.Within the limitations of the study it seems that NAM and primary anterior rhinoplasty including postoperative nasal stents should be performed whenever possible in order to achieve a favorable shape of the nose and to reduce the need for secondary corrective surgery.

Two-stage palatoplasty, is it still a valuable treatment protocol for patients with a cleft of lip, alveolus, and palate?

IntroductionSpeech development is of utmost importance and requires early closure of a palatal cleft. On the other hand, it is well known that all types and timings of surgical repair of facial clefts are detrimental to maxillary growth. Nevertheless, these days one is more and more confronted with a world-wide tendency in favour of the one-in-all operation to close clefts of the lip, alveolus, and palate. Therefore, a three-centre study was performed for testing – once more – the value of two-stage palatoplasty as a means to reduce the detrimental effects of surgery on palatal growth and at the same time to also enable early speech development. Material and methodsPlaster casts from 85 patients have been re-evaluated. All of them had a complete unilateral cleft of lip, alveolus, and palate. They had been treated according to the old therapy protocols followed in either one of the three different cleft centres many years ago, namely in Hamburg, (Western) Germany, Iowa City, IO, USA, and Rostock, (in those days still Eastern) Germany. The impressions had been taken already in 1987 from patients being either 8 years (36 pts.) or 16 years of age (49 pts.). Three different treatment protocols had been followed for these patients in those centres in those days: The main difference was that in centres A and B the palates were closed in two stages whilst in centre C palatoplasty was performed in just one operation. ResultsThe most interesting results regarding the palatal growth were that: 1. In centre C (one-stage palatoplasty) the patients had more constricted palates. 2. In centre A (two-stage palatoplasty) the patients had least often an anterior cross-bite. Discussion and ConclusionIt appears that it was possible to show once more that closing the palate in one stage at age 1 year or less is interfering most with maxillary growth. This study leads us to conclude that two-stage palatoplasty is still a valuable treatment protocol for patients with a complete unilateral cleft of lip, alveolus, and palate, especially as apparently good guidance of speech development can lead to satisfactory speech for cleft patients in whom the hard palate was closed at a later age.

Sagittal growth of the facial skeleton of 6-year-old children with a complete unilateral cleft of lip, alveolus and palate treated with two different protocols

The purpose of the study was to compare sagittal growth of the facial skeleton of 6-year-old children treated in two cleft centres with different surgical protocols. Each group consisted of 20 consecutive non-syndromic children with complete unilateral cleft lip, alveolus and palate. They all had presurgical orthopaedics with a passive plate and external strapping until lip repair. Centre 1 had lip repair at the age of 3 months and one stage palatal closure at the age of 1 year. Closure of the alveolar cleft was planned at 9 years with bone grafting. In centre 2 lip repair was performed at the age of 6 months, soft palate repair at 12 months and hard palate repair together with mucoperiosteal closure of the alveolar cleft at the age of 30 months. At the time of investigation, the children from both centres had not received any postoperative orthodontic treatment. Sagittal growth was evaluated on lateral cephalograms using the angles SNA, SNB, ANB and SNPg. For control, Droschl standards were used. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis. There was no statistically significant difference in SNA, SNB, ANB and SNPg between the centres at the age of 6 years. There were no children with a class III jaw relationship. The sagittal dimensions were close to the values of non-cleft control persons (Droschl standards). There was considerable similar sagittal growth of the facial skeleton in both centres which has not been affected by the different surgical protocols so far. A final evaluation should be delayed until the growth of the facial skeleton is complete.

Effects of lip repair on maxillary growth and facial soft tissue development in patients with a complete unilateral cleft of lip, alveolus and palate

To examine the relationship between lip repair and inhibition of maxillary growth, and to investigate the characteristics of upper lip in patients with complete unilateral clefts of lip, alveolus and palate. Lateral cephalometric radiographs and photographs (anterior-posterior and profile) were taken for 3 groups of patients: (1) 35 complete unilateral cleft lip, alveolus and palate cases in whom only a labioplasty was performed as infants; (2) 47 cases who had both lip and palate repaired; and (3) 37 non-cleft peers as controls. There was maxillary retrusion in groups (1) and (2). Surface area and height of the upper lip was reduced in both these groups when compared with the normal controls. Lip repair is a most important factor in the restraint of maxillary growth in patients with complete unilateral clefts of lip, alveolus and palate. And height and projection of the upper lip are reduced following lip repair.

Centralization of Services: Standard Setting and Outcomes

To test specific standards set in the newly established cleft lip and palate service in three regions of the U.K. The standards relate to record collection and outcomes. Retrospective analysis. Records of 31 children, 5 years of age, who were born in 1997 with complete unilateral clefts of lip and palate and were treated by surgeons in three regions. Record collection standards were measured by collecting dental study models. Outcomes were measured with the 5-Year-Old Index. Of the 31 subjects, 52% had excellent and good outcomes. The 31 cases represented 62% of the total records collected. The three regions examined fell short of the standards set, but the outcomes were improved compared with previous national outcomes. The failings in record collection need to be rectified. This study provides baseline data for further development of cleft services within three regions.

Delaire's cheilorhinoplasty: Unilateral cleft aesthetic outcome scored according to the EUROCLEFT guidelines

The aim of our study is to evaluate, in accordance with EUROCLEFT guidelines, the aesthetics of nasolabial area in a sample of complete unilateral cleft of lip and palate patients (UCLP), after surgical correction with Delaire' technique. Twenty-two UCLP patients (16 males and 6 females, 9 right and 13 left side clefts) were enrolled in this retrospective study. Patients were operated at 7 (mean value) months of age by a single surgeon. Frontal and sub-mental photos for each baby were recorded at 8.5 (mean value) years of age, and evaluated twice, by three independent maxillofacial surgeons. A five-point scale (EUROCLEFT guidelines) was used. Nonparametric analysis (Kruskal-Wallis test) was applied to detect differences in medians obtained in studied groups. Kruskal-Wallis test showed no statistical significant differences among evaluations of three surgeons and between the first and the second evaluation of the same surgeon. The global appearance of the upper lip and nose was scored with a mean value of 2 (i.e. good). The sample was then divided into two subgroups, according with patient' age; the aesthetics and the symmetry of the nose resulted better in elder patients (i.e. subgroup A, mean period of observation=10.2 years), whereas upper lip achieved better results in younger patients (i.e. subgroup B, mean period of observation=4.9 years). EUROCLEFT guidelines are a useful method to evaluate--aesthetically and over time--cleft lip and palate patients, treated with a single surgical procedure. We hypothesize that Delaire technique could progressively improve aesthetics and symmetry of the nose, throughout the growth of the patient.

Nasolabial and alveolar morphology following presurgical orthopaedic treatment in complete unilateral clefts of lip, alveolus and palate

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to assess the three-dimensional (3-D) facial and alveolar morphology of patients with unilateral clefts of lip, alveolus and palate by means of a computer-aided diagnosis system. Patients and Methods: Maxillary orthopaedic treatment was performed using soft/hard acrylic plates (Hotz’s) within 2 weeks of birth. The nasolabial and alveolar morphology of 15 patients was evaluated before orthopaedic treatment (2 weeks of age) and before cheiloplasty (3 months of age). Nasolabial form was measured using a 3-D optical scanner. Twenty-one landmarks were extracted from the data and analysed linearly and angularly. Alveolar forms were measured with a high-accuracy contact-type 3-D digitizer on plaster casts. Seven landmarks were digitized and analysed linearly and angularly. Results: Some growth was observed in the intercanthal distance, alar width, intercommissural width, and height of the lip. There was little change in the width of the cleft lip or displacement of the columella base, while the alveolar cleft narrowed. Conclusion: Presurgical orthopaedics reduces cleft width and makes subsequent surgery easier.

Dento-alveolar development in unilateral cleft lip, alveolus and palate

Background and objective: Palatal surgery for cleft lip, alveolus and palate is considered to have the most powerful negative impact on maxillary growth. The aim of this study was to compare dento-alveolar development of the permanent dentition and morphology of the palate after surgery in unilateral cleft lip, alveolus and palate patients following two types of palatoplasty: supraperiosteal flap vs mucoperiosteal flap technique. Patients: Thirty-eight patients born between 1976 and 1983 with a complete unilateral cleft of lip, alveolus and palate were studied. Fifteen patients were treated with supraperiosteal flaps (SP group), and the other 23 patients with mucoperiosteal flaps (MP group). In this cross-sectional study, dental casts of stage IV A of Hellman's dental age in each patient were used. Methods: The following distances were measured: (1) transverse distance C–C′, (2) transverse distance M–M′, (3) palatal length, (4) palatal height. Results: No statistically differences were seen between the SP and MP groups regarding C–C′ and M–M′. However, palatal length and palatal height were significantly greater in the SP than in the MP group. Conclusion: The technique that leaves no denuded palatal bone is considered to be advantageous for the development of the alveolar process.

Cortical auditory dysfunction in children with oral clefts: relation with cleft type

Objective: Up to 46% of individuals with oral clefts suffer from language-learning disabilities. The degree of these disabilities varies according to cleft type. The pathogenesis of cognitive malfunctioning or its relationship with cleft type is not known. We investigated persistence of auditory short-term memory (STM) that is implicitly involved in language-specific perception in children with clefts, grouped using fine-graded cleft classification.Methods: Cortical evoked potentials were recorded in 78 children with non-syndromic oral clefts and in 32 healthy peers. A mismatch negativity (MMN) potential that indexes preattentive detection of change in auditory input was obtained in response to tone sounds. In order to test durability of short-term memory traces, sounds were presented with three stimulation rates.Results: With slowest stimulation, MMN amplitudes were reduced in cleft children as compared to the healthy peers (P<0.00065). Only cleft-lip children did not significantly differ from controls. Among isolated palatal clefts, the more posteriorly delimited the cleft was, the smaller was the amplitude of MMN. MMNs of smallest amplitudes were obtained in the subgroup of complete unilateral cleft of lip and palate.Conclusions: Reduced MMN amplitudes, found in cleft children, imply deficiency in auditory STM trace maintenance. This dysfunction is likely to contribute to their language and learning disabilities. The MMN diminution with shorter/more posterior clefts suggests that differences in auditory cortex function are one of the underlying mechanisms of the cleft type-malcogniton association.

An orthodontic evaluation of 16-year-old males with an original complete unilateral cleft lip and palate problem repaired during the neonatal period

A cephalometric analysis is presented of a group of 21 16-year-old males born with complete unilateral clefts of lip and palate with surgical repair carried out in the neonatal period. Comparisons are made with the multicentre study reported by Ross (1987). The study demonstrates that the effect of early surgery on facial growth is similar to that of the average of the multicentre study.