Early maxillary orthopaedics as a supplement to conventional primary surgery in complete cleft lip and palate cases -...

29 patients with complete uni- or bilateral cleft lip and palate were followed up the age of 15 to 20 years after having undergone early maxillary orthopaedics as a supplement to conventional primary surgery. Longitudinal changes in their facial pattern are demonstrated by means of Enlow's cephalometric analysis. The ultimate sagittal skeletal imbalance is more than 50% of the cases seems to be related to inadequate primary surgery (lip closure before 5 months of age, complete palatal closure before 2 years of age). Evidently, initial facial pattern and functional habits also play an important role. Functional disturbances due to scarring are discussed with a view to their influence on facial development.