Cleft size at the time of palate repair in complete unilateral cleft lip and palate as an indicator of maxillary growth

Cleft size at the time of palate repair might affect the difficulty of surgical repair and, thus, indirectly postoperative maxillary growth. This retrospective study aimed to determine whether a correlation existed between the cleft size at the time of palate repair and the growth of the maxilla. Maxillary dental casts of 39 infants with non-syndromic complete unilateral cleft lip and palate, taken at the time of palate repair, were used to measure cleft size. Cleft size was defined as the percentage of the total palatal area. The later growth of the maxilla was determined using lateral and postero-anterior cephalometric radiographs taken at 9 years of age. The Pearson correlation analysis was used for statistical analysis. The results showed negative correlations between cleft size and the maxillary length (PMP–ANS, PMP–A) and the maxillary protrusion (S–N–ANS, SNA). These data suggest that in patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate there is a significant correlation between the cleft size at the time of palate repair and the maxillary length and protrusion. Patients with a large cleft at the time of palate repair have a shorter and more retrusive maxilla than those with a small cleft by the age of 9 years.