CRANIAL BASE IN NEWBORNS WITH COMPLETE CLEFT-LIP AND PALATE - RADIOGRAPHIC STUDY

In a 1993 study, Molsted and colleagues found an increased width of th e spheno-occipital synchondrosis in newborns with complete clefts of t he lip, alveolus, and palate compared with newborns with incomplete cl efts, As the spheno-occipital synchondrosis represents remnants of the early chondrocranium that later ossifies and incorporates in the cran ial base, it is possible that an inborn alteration, such as a deviant growth of cartilage, or a delayed maturation in the early development of the cartilaginous cranial base, can affect not only the length and the width of the cranial base, but also the petrous portion of the tem poral bone and the nasal septum, as these structures also have a carti laginous origin, The purpose of the present study was to measure the c ranial base width, including the width of the maxilla, and to measure the bilateral angulation of the petrous portion of the temporal bone a nd the sphenoid bone in 3-month-old children with complete clefts and in 3-month-old children with an incomplete cleft of the lip, and to co mpare the two groups, Fifty-two children with complete clefts (CLP) wi thout associated malformations comprised the test group, Forty-eight c hildren with a minor, incomplete cleft lip (CL) constituted the contro l group, The results of the comparison showed marked differences betwe en the CLP and CL groups, In the CLP children, the cranial base width and the bilateral angulation of the sphenoid bone increased, An increa sed angulation was also seen between left and right sides of the pars petrosa, Furthermore, increased maxillary width was found. This confir ms that cleft lip and palate is not an isolated malformation localized to the jaws but a malformation, which also involves the cartilaginous cranial base.