Craniofacial morphology in adult patients with unoperated complete bilateral cleft lip and palate

This report is a retrospective study that compares the craniofacial morphology of adult subjects with unoperated bilateral complete cleft lip and palate (BCLP) with that of a noncleft group.

The study was performed on standardized lateral cephalograms obtained at the Hospital for Research and Rehabilitation of Cleft Lip and Palate, University of São Paulo, Brazil. The research group consisted of 28 subjects (20 males, 8 females) with unoperated BCLP, ranging in age from 15 to 41 years. The control group was matched to the cleft group with regard to gender and age. The findings were analyzed on the basis of the two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for cleft and gender.

The most striking difference between the groups was the extremely prominent premaxilla in the cleft group that gave the BCLP face a very convex profile. The mandible exhibited a vertical growth pattern that resulted in a steep mandibular plane, an obtuse gonial angle and a long lower face height. The posterior face height was reduced. The cranial base dimensions were smaller, but there was no difference in cranial base angulation.

These findings confirm that in subjects with unoperated BCLP, the initial characteristics of the cleft malformation persist during growth.