Growth Outcomes Audit for Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate (UCLP) After 2-stage Palate Repair

To assess the impact of 1 and 2-stage palatoplasty protocol on the dental arch relationships in unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) in a single center.

Our study consisted of 349 individuals divided into 2 groups according to the palatoplasty protocol. Two-stage group comprised 169 subjects with UCLP (mean age: 6.9 y, 110 male and 59 female) who underwent lip, nasal ala, and anterior palate repair with vomer flap from 3 to 6 months (first surgery stage). Soft palate repair occurred from 12 to 18 months (second surgery stage). The one-stage group comprised 180 subjects with UCLP (mean age: 7.2 y, 108 male and 72 female) who underwent 1-stage palatoplasty. Dental models were evaluated by 3 experienced orthodontists applying Goslon Yardstick and the 5-year-old index (FYOI). The influence of the palatoplasty technique and surgeon factor on the interarch relationship was evaluated. The weighted Kappa was used to assess intraexaminer and interexaminer agreements for comparisons of dental arch relationships. Intergroup comparisons were conducted using the χ 2 test ( P <0.05).

The intraexaminer reliability was very good (0.81 to 0.98) and interexaminer reliability varied from satisfactory to very good (0.56 to 0.83). The mean occlusal index of the 2-stage and 1-stage groups was 2.77 and 3.03, respectively. The variability of the mean index between surgeons varied from 2.38 to 3.2 in the 2-stage group and 2.91 to 3.2 in the 1-stage group. There were significant differences in the frequency of Goslon 5 index ( P =0.002) between groups, with the 2-stage group presenting less cases (1.18%) than the group 1-stage (11.11%).

The interarch relationship was similar for both palate repair protocols. Two-stage palatoplasty showed a decreased prevalence of Goslon index 5.