A Comparison of Craniofacial Form in Northern Irish Children with Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Treated with Different Primary Surgical Techniques

Objective: The quality of outcomes in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) was compared between two senior plastic surgeons. One surgeon carried out a one-stage Wardill-Kilner palate repair. The other surgeon employed a vomer flap hard palate repair followed by a von Langenbeck soft palate closure (Oslo protocol).

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Patients: Thirty-four children (mean age 9.7 years) born with complete skeletal UCLP in Northern Ireland from 1983 to 1991 who received primary repair surgery from one of the two surgeons.

Main Outcome Measures: Cephalometric analysis was used to determine the craniofacial form and soft tissue profile. The quality of the dental arch relationships was independently assessed using the Goslon ranking system.

Results: Twenty-nine of the 34 subjects had good or satisfactory arch relationships. Comparison between the surgeons revealed that the Wardill-Kilner group had a greater proportion of Goslon grades of greater than 3, indicating poor arch relationships. However, this difference failed to reach statistical significance. There were no significant cephalometric differences between patients treated by the two surgeons.

Conclusions: Although the difference was not statistically significant, the highest proportion of patients likely to require orthognathic surgery was found in those treated using the Wardill-Kilner technique.