Early palatal shape change in infants with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate

Abstract

<P>THE STUDY DEVELOPED AND VALIDATED A METHOD FOR QUANTIFYING THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL SHAPE OF THE CLEFT PALATE IN INFANTS WITH COMPLETE UNILATERAL CLEFT LIP AND PALATE DEFORMITY; AND QUANTIFIED THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL CHANGES OF THE CLEFT PALATE BETWEEN LIP AND PALATE SURGERY IN UCLP INFANTS. 3D IMAGES OF THE PLASTER MODELS WERE OBTAINED WITH THE CYBERWARE 3030R-HIREZ SURFACE LASER SCANNER. THE SINGAPORE AND HELSINKI SAMPLES COMPRISE 14 AND 24 INFANTS, RESPECTIVELY. DENTAL MODELS WERE OBTAINED AT 3 MONTHS AND 9 MONTHS OF AGE. THE MAIN EFFECTS OF PRIMARY LIP SURGERY WERE CONCENTRATED IN THE ANTERIOR REGION OF THE MAJOR PALATAL SEGMENT. ARCH SYMMETRY IMPROVED AND THE POSITIONAL DISPLACEMENT OF THE MAJOR ALVEOLAR SEGMENT WAS CORRECTED TOWARDS THE MINOR ALVEOLAR SEGMENT. CHANGES TO THE MINOR ALVEOLAR SEGMENT WERE MINIMAL. ANATOMIC DIFFERENCES IN CLEFT PALATE SHAPE BETWEEN SAMPLES EXISTED PRIOR TO LIP SURGERY, BUT THESE DIFFERENCES WERE MINIMIZED AT 9 MONTHS OF AGE.</P>