ABSTRACT
Background: A significant improvement in the nasal symmetry after presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) is seen in complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) infants. However, the follow-up changes in the nasal symmetry before and after PNAM and surgical repair have not been well documented. Materials and Methods: The purpose of this retrospective study is to assess the progressive changes in the nasal symmetry after PNAM and primary cheiloplasty to 1 year in complete UCLP infants. Out of 28 complete UCLP patients who were given PNAM treatment during the period between January 2014 to March 2019, 19 UCLP infants could be included for the study. Submental oblique photographs at the initial visit (T1), immediately after cheiloplasty (T2), and 1 year (T3) after cheiloplasty were selected, and quantity of nasal asymmetry at each period (T1-T2; T1-T3; and T2-T3) was analyzed by paired t-test (P < 0.05). Results: The quantity of asymmetry revealed that there was a highly significant improvement (P < 0.001) in nasal asymmetry at T1-T2 and T1-T3. Nonsignificant relapse was observed at T2-T3; however, a significant relapse in nasal dome height was observed during this period. Conclusion: The improvement in the nasal symmetry after cheiloplasty in PNAM-treated patients is maintained till 1 year postsurgically though there is a nonsignificant relapse.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Presurgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM) was introduced by Grayson et al., in 1993 to presurgically mold the alveolus, lip, and nose in infants with cleft lip and palate (CLP). The aim of this comparative clinical trial was to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of Modified and Conventional Grayson's PNAM in patients concerning morphological and anatomical changes in maxillary alveolus, nasal symmetry, number of visits, and duration of treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this comparative clinical trial study, 16 infants with unilateral complete CLP were equally divided into two groups: Group I (modified PNAM technique using titanium molybdenum alloy [TMA] wire nasal stent) and Group II (conventional PNAM technique using stainless steel wire nasal stent). Patient photographic evaluation of nasal symmetry and maxillary study model CAD-CAM analysis, pre- and post-operatively in both groups, were compared using a paired t-test between the groups using the Chi-square test with P < 0.05 as statistically significant. RESULTS: In both groups, on evaluating nasal measurements, statistically significant (P < 0.05) decrease in nasal width and increase in columella deviation angle, a decrease of nostril length, and an increase of columella length in Group I were observed. On maxillary study model evaluation, a statistically significant (P < 0.05) decrease in width of the alveolar cleft was noticed in both groups and lateral deviation of the incisal point in Group I and width of the palatal cleft in Group II was noticed. CONCLUSION: This study showed a morphological improvement in nasal symmetry and maxillary alveolar morphology in complete unilateral CLP patients, treated with both Modified and Conventional PNAM techniques, with the Modified PNAM technique being more efficient for treatment duration and the number of adjustments as there are less number of visits.