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Sella turcica morphometrics in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate
Gregory S Antonarakis1, Luis Huanca Ghislanzoni1, Giorgio C La Scala2
1Division of Orthodontics, University Clinics of Dental Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Insights
Children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) have a smaller sella turcica in both size and shape compared to healthy children. This study used morphometric analysis to identify these differences in UCLP patients.
Area of Science:
- Craniofacial morphology
- Pediatric dentistry
- Orthodontics
Background:
- Unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) is a common congenital condition affecting facial development.
- The sella turcica, a key landmark in the skull base, may be influenced by orofacial clefts.
- Understanding sella turcica morphology in UCLP is crucial for comprehensive treatment planning.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the size and shape of the sella turcica in children with non-syndromic UCLP using advanced morphometric techniques.
- To compare the sella turcica dimensions and shape between children with UCLP and a healthy control group.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 56 children with UCLP and 56 age/sex-matched controls.
- Lateral cephalograms were analyzed using conventional measurements (width, height, area) and geometric morphometrics.
- Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to assess sella turcica shape variations.
Main Results:
- Children with UCLP exhibited statistically significant smaller sella posterior height, midpoint height, maximum height, and area compared to controls.
- PCA indicated that the first two principal components explained 84.7% of the total shape variance.
- A significant difference in sella turcica shape, independent of size, was observed between the UCLP and control groups.
Conclusions:
- The sella turcica is significantly smaller in size (shorter and reduced surface area) in children with UCLP compared to their non-cleft peers.
- Sella turcica shape, when size is accounted for, also appears to differ between children with UCLP and healthy controls.
- These findings highlight potential craniofacial developmental alterations associated with UCLP.
Objective:
To use morphometric methods to investigate the size and shape of the sella turcica in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP).
Setting And Sample Population:
Fifty-six healthy children with non-syndromic UCLP, from a major paediatric teaching hospital, with lateral cephalograms taken prior to alveolar bone grafting, were compared with an age- and sex-matched control group of healthy children without orofacial clefts, with lateral cephalograms taken prior to orthodontic treatment.
Materials And Methods:
In this cross-sectional study, conventional measurements were performed on the sella turcica to measure width, height and area on lateral cephalograms. Sella shape was also analysed using 11 points defining the sella turcica contours, using geometric morphometrics. Procrustes superimposition was used to register all sella contour tracings to calculate average sella shape. Principal component analysis was applied to the residuals of the point coordinates, and principal components (PCs) of shape were extracted.
Results:
Statistically significant differences between the UCLP and control groups were found for sella posterior height, midpoint height, maximum height and area, where all of these were smaller in children with UCLP. Principal component analysis revealed that the first two PCs accounted for 84.7% of total shape variance. There was a statistically significant difference in sella shape between children with UCLP and control children.
Conclusions:
In children with UCLP, the sella turcica is shorter and with a smaller surface area when compared to matched non-cleft children. Moreover, sella turcica shape, when disregarding size, seems to differ to that of non-cleft children.
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