EDITOR'S CHOICE: objective assessment of the nasal airway in unilateral cleft lip and palate--a long-term study

To objectively evaluate the nasal function in adults operated on for unilateral cleft lip and palate with one-stage or two-stage palate closure.

The population consists of all unilateral cleft lip and palate patients born from 1960 to 1987 and treated at the Cleft Lip and Palate Center, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden. The patients were treated according to the same protocol except for palate closure, which was performed in one stage until 1977 and in two stages thereafter. Eighty-three patients participated. Mean follow-up time after primary surgery was 32 years. An age-matched control group underwent the same examinations.

Nasal minimum cross-sectional area (cm(2)) and volume (cm(3)) were assessed (acoustic rhinometry). Airflow resistance (Pa s/cm(3)) (rhinomanometry), peak inspiratory flow (L/min) (peak nasal inspiratory flow), and number of identified odors (Scandinavian Odor Identification Test) were determined.

The cleft side of unilateral cleft lip and palate patients had significantly lower values for all parameters compared with controls (p < .001). No difference was found between one-stage and two-stage procedures in values for the cleft side. However, the nasal area and volume of the noncleft side were significantly larger in patients who underwent one-stage as compared with two-stage procedures (p < .05).

The nasal airway of unilateral cleft lip and palate patients demonstrates a wide range of impairments that can be quantified by objective measurements. However, the measurements used did not differentiate between patients operated on with the one-stage and two-stage procedures except for values of the noncleft side.