EFFECT OF PRESURGICAL INFANT ORTHOPEDICS ON FACIAL AESTHETICS IN COMPLETE BILATERAL CLEFT-LIP AND PALATE

A sample of 40 teenage individuals with repaired complete bilateral cl eft lip and palate, 20 of whom had received presurgical infant orthope dics, was obtained to test the effects of presurgical infant orthopedi cs on facial esthetics. All subjects had surgery by the same surgeon. The age and sex distribution was approximately equal between the two g roups. A panel of five judges evaluated the lip and nose esthetics, fr om full face and profile slides and a mean panel score for each subjec t was derived for six individual features and three total scores. No d ifference in the esthetic scores between the two groups could be detec ted. No differences were found in the number of revisionary surgical p rocedures required to the lip or nose. The findings indicate that cons ervative presurgical orthopedics for infants with complete bilateral c left lip and palate has no lasting effect on the esthetics of the lip and nose, and does not alter the need for subsequent revisionary surge ry.