A Preliminary Study of Facial Growth and Morphology in Unoperated Male Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Subjects Over 13 Years of Age

TLDR

The study examines how early surgical repair affects facial growth and morphology in Sri Lankan males with unilateral cleft lip and palate aged over 13, using cephalometric and dental model analyses. The authors compared three subgroups—unrepaired clefts, lip repair only, and lip plus palate repair—with a control group of 23 healthy noncleft Sri Lankan males, assessing facial growth via cephalometry and dental models. Results indicate that unrepaired clefts and lip‑only repairs can achieve near‑normal maxillary growth, whereas early palate repair is associated with maxillary hypoplasia.

Abstract

This paper investigates the effects of surgery on facial growth and morphology in Sri Lankan males with unilateral cleft lip and palate who were over 13 years of age at the time of study with cephalometry and dental study models. Three separate subgroups were analyzed: those who had totally unrepaired cleft lip and palate, those who received lip repair in infancy but not palatal repair, and those who had lip and palate repair in infancy. Twenty-three healthy noncleft Sri Lankan males over 13 years formed a control group from the same racial background. The results show that subjects who had no surgery had a potential for normal maxillary growth. Subjects who have had lip repair in early infancy show relatively normal maxillary growth, but maxillary hypoplasia is common when the palate has also been repaired early.