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Published on: February 23, 2024
Maxillary shape at the end of puberty in operated unilateral cleft lip and palate: A geometric morphometric
E Segna1, R H Khonsari1, M C Meazzini2
1Service de Chirurgie Maxillofaciale et Chirurgie Plastique, filière maladies rares TeteCou, centre de référence maladies rares MAFACE, Hôpital Universitaire Necker-Enfants Malades, Université Sorbonne Paris-Cité, Université Paris-Descartes, AP-HP, 75015 Paris, France.
Introduction:
Cleft lip and palate (CLP) surgery interferes with maxillary growth and contributes to transversal and sagittal growth impairment. Our retrospective descriptive study aimed to evaluate maxillary bone shape in a homogenous unilateral CLP patient group using geometric morphometrics based on CT-scan data.
Material And Methods:
We included all patients with available CT-scans at the end of pubertal growth and operated on at Smile House of Milan, according to the standard protocol, involving two surgical steps: (1) primary closure of the lip and soft palate at 6 months of age and (2) early secondary gingivoalveoloplasty (GAP) associated with hard palate repair at 18-36 months. Shape differences between CLP and an age-matched control group were characterized using geometric morphometrics based on 15 3D landmarks.
Results:
We included 16 unilateral CLP patients and 20 age-matched controls. Principal component and canonical variate analyses showed that the maxillary shape in CLP was significantly different from controls but that this difference was limited. Linear and angular measurements confirmed these differences.
Conclusion:
Early secondary GAP results in satisfactory maxillary shape, with significant but limited differences relative to controls.
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