Lips and noses in 10-year old patients with repaired complete unilateral clefts of lip, alveolus, and palate. A prospective three-centre study of the Baltic Cleft Network.

This multicenter study aimed at comparing different techniques of lip and nose repair with or without NAM and primary anterior rhinoplasty in pre-adolescent children. Patients with unilateral clefts of lip, alveolus, and palate who had undergone cleft lip and nose repair were evaluated in a prospective three-centre study using standardized monochromatic, cropped photographs. Four cleft surgeons evaluated the aesthetics of the central part of the face when the patients had reached age ten years. Seventy-six sets of photographs out of 87 patients were evaluated. The overall ratings of lips and noses did not differ much between centres. However, noses of centres 1 (mean 0.74; SD 0.57) and 2 (mean 0.76; SD 0.60) had been rated better than centre 3 (mean 1.32; SD 0.78; p = 0.0078), especially "Deformation of upper part of nostril rim or poor position of alar cartilage". Centre 3 had produced better looking scars (mean 0.33; SD 0.48); p = 0.0036. Within the limitations of the study it seems that NAM and primary anterior rhinoplasty including postoperative nasal stents should be performed whenever possible in order to achieve a favorable shape of the nose and to reduce the need for secondary corrective surgery.

Epidemiologic factors causing cleft lip and palate and their regularities of occurrence in Estonia.

OBJECTIVES: To study epidemiological factors causing development of cleft lip and palate and their occurrence regularities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study included 583 cleft lip and palate patients and the information for statistical analyses was gathered from Tartu University Hospital. RESULTS: 19% of the patients had a cleft lip (CL), 39% of the patients had a cleft palate (CP), and 42 % of the patients had a cleft lip and palate (CLP). The ratio for different cleft types CL: CLP: CP was 1:2:2. In unilateral CLP and CL cases, the left side was affected 2.2 times more frequently than the right side. Boys had a CLP nearly 2.1 times more often than girls. CP was more common for girls (60%) than for boys (40%). 30% of children had multiple malformations. 2.6% of children with clefts were born premature, half of which had accompanying developmental anomalies. The average birth weight for cleft child was ~3400 grams. 6.8% of children with clefts had a birth weight below 2.5 kg. In case of children with clefts, the mother's age exceeded 30 years in 1/4 of cases and father's age in 1/3 of cases. Both parents were older than 30 years in 66% of the cases. 1/5 of both parents were older than 30 years. 1/3 of mothers of children with clefts had suffered psychological stress, 1/5 of mothers had done hard physical work. 1/5 of mothers had an exposure to teratogenic toxic substances. 15% of them received medications during the first trimester of pregnancy. 15% of mothers had experienced hormonal disorders. CONCLUSIONS: As a result of the study we found a high occurrence rate of CP (CL: CLP: CP--1:2:2), which is similar to the studies conducted in Finland and Sweden. The reasons for this ratio need further research.

Odontogenic tumours, a collaborative retrospective study of 75 cases covering more than 25 years from Estonia.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the present collaborative study was to analyse retrospectively the character of odontogenic tumours in Estonia, involving the entire Estonian population (1.4 million), and to compare their prevalence with the figures presented in similar reports from other countries. MATERIAL AND METHODS: All material for the retrospective study was retrieved from the files of the Departments of Maxillofacial Surgery in Tartu and Tallinn, Estonia, where all in/out-patients are treated from the whole country. The final diagnosis in each case of odontogenic tumour was based on the 1992 WHO histological criteria. RESULTS: A total of 75 odontogenic tumours was found, 74 (98.6%) of which were benign, and 1 (1.3%) was malignant. The frequency of odontogenic tumours in this study was the lowest ever reported. The most common tumours were odontoma (34.3%), followed by ameloblastoma with different subtypes (25.3%), ameloblastic fibroma (16%), odontogenic myxoma (12%) and benign cementoblastoma (8%). CONCLUSION: Odontogenic tumours are relatively rare in Estonia compared with the data from other countries.