Bone-anchored maxillary protraction in a patient with complete cleft lip and palate: A case report

Sagittal maxillary deficiency is frequently observed in patients with operated unilateral complete cleft of the lip and palate. Treatment for moderate to severe Class III malocclusion usually relies on LeFort I surgery for maxillary advancement after the end of growth. This case report describes bone-anchored maxillary protraction in a 10-year-old white boy with unilateral complete cleft of the lip and palate. His interarch relationship was diagnosed as GOSLON index 5 before treatment with a negative overjet of 3.2 mm. The orthopedic traction was started 4 months after secondary alveolar bone graft surgery and before comprehensive orthodontic treatment. Class III elastics were used full time for 18 months. After treatment, the interarch relationship was GOSLON index 1 with a positive overjet. The SNA angle increased by 6.50° and A-Na Perp increased by 3.8 mm, leading to marked improvement in facial convexity (+14.6°). No posterior rotation of the mandible occurred with a slight closure of the gonial angle. Visualization of 3-dimensional color-coded maps showed an overall forward maxillary displacement. The bone-anchored maxillary protraction results for this patient are a promising orthopedic therapy for patients with unilateral complete cleft of the lip and palate, with the advantage of achieving much earlier improvement of facial esthetics and functional occlusion, compared with LeFort I surgery at skeletal maturity.