First-Trimester Sonographic Evaluation of Palatine Clefts: A Novel Diagnostic Approach

Sonographic evaluation of the palate is a difficult task, and most palatine clefts are diagnosed in the neonatal period because of the limitations of 2-dimensional (2D) sonography. The objective is to describe a sonographic technique based on 2D markers for screening of palatine clefts during the nuchal translucency scan and to assess the ability of 3-dimensional (3D) sonography in imaging the normal and abnormal palate.

A total of 2014 women who enrolled for first-trimester screening were included in this prospective study. Screening for palatine clefts was done by 2D evaluation of bony landmarks of the palate, which were the appearance of the palatal line in the sagittal view, retronasal triangle in the coronal view, and alveolar ridge of the maxilla in the axial view followed, by 3D evaluation in suspicious cases. All cases included in the study were followed by second-trimester anomaly scans and evaluated postnatally. Additionally, in 100 consecutive normal cases, 3D evaluation of the palate was done.

Visualization of 2D landmarks could be done in all, and 3D assessment was feasible in 94% of cases. Fourteen cases, of which 5 were unilateral, 4 bilateral, and 2 median cleft lip and palate, 2 median cleft palate, and 1 atypical palatine cleft were identified. There were no false-positives results reported, and 1 case of a bifid uvula was missed.

The study demonstrates that evaluation of the palate can be done at the 11 to 14 week scan based on 2D markers and can also be assessed with 3D sonography. The inclusion of 2D markers in all 3 planes increases the sensitivity for detection of palatine clefts.