Maxillary growth after two-stage palatal closure in complete (unilateral and bilateral) clefts of the lip and palate from infancy until 10 years of age

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to clarify the maxillary growth effects following different types of palatal closure in complete clefts of the lip and palate from infancy to 10 years of age. Lip repair, carried out at 5 months in one stage, was accomplished by Tennison's procedure. These patients were then assigned randomly to each of the 4 experimental groups according to the types of clefts and of palatal closure. One group of 14 patients in unilateral cases (Unil-S) and another group of 8 patients in bilateral cases (Bil-S) received mucoperiosteal palatal push-back procedure in a single stage at 20 months. The third group of 16 patients in unilateral cases (Unil-T) and the fourth group of 7 patients in bilateral cases (Bil-T) received the two-stage palatal closure based on Perko technique in which primary veloplasty was accomplished at 20 months and hard palate closure at 5 year 10 months. Non-cleft subjects were served as Controls. A longitudinal maxillary growth was monitored by the measurements of maxillofacial cast models obtained from each of the subjects. The results showed that the growth in depth and height of the maxilla of the Unil-T showed catch-up growth after primary veloplasty and resulted in no significant differences compared to that of the Control in the later phases, however, the Unil-S did not. The maxillary growth inhibition in height was characteristic in both Bil-S and Bil-T after palatal closure. There were no differences between the Bil-S and Bil-T in any dimensions and observation phases. The results indicate that the employment of the two-stage palatal closure is more beneficial for the unilateral cases, however, careful consideration is needed in bilateral cases.