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Does Presurgical Taping Change Nose and Lip Aesthetics in Infants with Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate? A Randomized
Mohamed Abd El-Ghafour1, Mamdouh A Aboulhassan1, Amr Ragab El-Beialy1
1From the Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, and Departments of Pediatric Plastic Surgery and Plastic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University.
Insights
Nasal and lip taping effectively improved aesthetics in infants with unilateral cleft lip and palate before surgery. Post-surgery, taping showed no lasting aesthetic advantage over no treatment.
Area of Science:
- Craniofacial Surgery
- Orthodontics
- Pediatric Plastic Surgery
Background:
- Infants with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate often require surgical repair to correct aesthetic and functional deficits.
- Pre-surgical interventions aim to improve outcomes and reduce the severity of the cleft before surgical lip repair.
- Nasal and lip taping is a non-invasive technique explored for pre-surgical management of cleft lip and palate.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy of taping as a standalone intervention for improving nasal and lip aesthetics in infants with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate.
- To compare aesthetic outcomes in infants receiving taping versus those receiving no pre-surgical treatment before and after surgical lip repair.
Main Methods:
- A prospective, randomized controlled trial involving 31 infants with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate.
- Infants were randomized into two groups: taping (receiving horizontal tape to reduce cleft gap) and control (no treatment).
- Standardized photographs and videos were digitally assessed at baseline, pre-surgery, and 2 weeks post-surgery by blinded evaluators.
Main Results:
- The taping group demonstrated significant improvements in measured nasal and lip aesthetics at the pre-surgical stage compared to the control group.
- No significant aesthetic differences were observed between the taping and control groups at the 2-week post-surgical follow-up.
- Taping effectively altered aesthetics prior to surgical intervention, suggesting a role in pre-surgical molding.
Conclusions:
- Nasal and lip taping is a successful pre-surgical intervention for enhancing lip and nose aesthetics in infants with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate.
- The aesthetic benefits of taping were primarily observed before surgical lip repair, with no significant long-term differences noted post-surgery.
- Taping alone can positively influence pre-surgical aesthetics, potentially simplifying the subsequent surgical repair.
Background:
The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to assess the effectiveness of taping alone in changing nose and lip aesthetics in infants with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate before and after surgical lip repair.
Methods:
The study design was a prospective, balanced, randomized, parallel-group, single-blinded, controlled trial. All the steps were carried out in the Department of Orthodontics of Cairo University in Egypt. Thirty-one infants with nonsyndromic unilateral complete cleft lip and palate were randomly assigned to either no treatment (control) or taping groups. In the taping group, all infants received horizontal tape between the two labial segments, aiming to decrease the cleft gap. No other interventions were performed in this group. Standardized photographs and videos were taken of the infants in both groups at the beginning of the treatment (T1), directly before surgical lip repair (T2), and 2 weeks after surgical lip repair (T3). Photographs and shots from videos were calibrated and used for outcome assessment. Blinded assessors carried out all the measurements digitally on the standardized photographs at T1, T2, and T3 using computer software.
Results:
Significant changes in all the measurements were recorded in the taping group at T2 before surgical lip repair in comparison with the control group. At T3, no differences were found between the two groups.
Conclusions:
Taping is a successful intervention in changing nose and lip aesthetics before surgical lip repair. After surgical lip repair, both groups had matching aesthetics.
Clinical Question/Level Of Evidence:
Therapeutic, I.
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