The Skoog Lip Repair for Unilateral Cleft Lip Deformity: The Uppsala Experience.

BACKGROUND: The Uppsala Craniofacial Center has been treating patients with unilateral cleft lip deformity using the lip repair technique described by Tord Skoog. The aim of this study was to determine complications after lip surgery and the incidence and indications for lip revisions in all patients born with unilateral cleft lip from 1960 to 2004. METHODS: All patients who were born from 1960 to 2004 with unilateral cleft lip, cleft lip and alveolus, or cleft lip and palate and underwent lip repair were studied retrospectively. The timing, indication, complications of the primary procedure, and type of secondary surgery were recorded. Kruskal-Wallis and Fisher's exact tests were used, with Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: The study included 443 patients. The total rate of early surgical complications was 6 percent (n = 26). Secondary surgery for short upper lip was performed in 3.8 percent (n = 17), 8.4 percent (n = 37) underwent reduction of excess vermillion, 8.6 percent (n = 38) underwent scar revision, 11 percent (n = 51) underwent revision for incongruent vermillion-cutaneous border, and 10 percent (n = 45) underwent revision for other indications. Altogether, 45 percent had no secondary revisions. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the Skoog lip repair is associated with a low total revision rate, and a short-lip deformity is rare. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, IV.

Skoog Primary Periosteoplasty versus Secondary Alveolar Bone Grafting in Unilateral Cleft Lip and Alveolus: Long-Term Effects on Alveolar Bone Formation and Maxillary Growth.

BACKGROUND: Clefts involving the alveolus are treated using one of two strategies: primary periosteoplasty at the time of lip repair or secondary alveolar bone grafting at mixed dentition. Most teams favor secondary alveolar bone grafting because of its high success rate, and concerns have been raised that primary periosteoplasty may interfere with maxillary growth. However, primary periosteoplasty may obviate the need for future bone grafting and is still practiced in some centers. Few studies compare the long-term outcomes of these two strategies. METHODS: Fifty-seven consecutive patients born with unilateral cleft lip and alveolus were studied retrospectively. All patients underwent primary lip repair using Skoog's method; 28 patients underwent primary periosteoplasty at the time of lip repair and the remaining 29 underwent secondary alveolar bone grafting at mixed dentition. Occlusal radiographs obtained at ages 10 and 16 years were analyzed for alveolar bone height. Cephalometric analysis assessed growth at ages 5, 10, and 18 years. RESULTS: Seventeen of 28 patients treated using primary periosteoplasty required later secondary bone grafting, and the bone height at age 16 years was lower in the primary periosteoplasty group (p < 0.0001). There was a more pronounced decrease in maxillary protrusion from ages 5 to 10 years in the primary periosteoplasty group (p < 0.03). However, at age 18 there was no significant difference in maxillary growth between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Primary periosteoplasty did not seem to inhibit long-term maxillary growth but was ineffective as a method of reconstructing the alveolar cleft. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, III.

Optimization of dental status improves long-term outcome after alveolar bone grafting in unilateral cleft lip and palate.

Objective : To evaluate the importance of dental status for long-term outcome after alveolar bone grafting in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate. Design : Retrospective longitudinal study. Setting : Cleft lip and palate-craniofacial center, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden. Patients : A total of 67 consecutive patients with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate. Interventions : Secondary alveolar bone grafting, prior to the eruption of the permanent canine, was performed at the average age of 10.0 years (range, 8.5 to 12.0 years). Main Outcome Measures : Alveolar bone height was evaluated with the modified Bergland index at 1 and 10 years after surgery. Results : Of the patients, 97% had modified Bergland index grade I and the remaining 3% had modified Bergland index grade II at 1 year after surgery. At 10 years' follow-up, 43% showed modified Bergland index grade I; 55%, modified Bergland index grade II; and 2% (one patient), modified Bergland index grade III. The degree of dental anomalies in the cleft area, such as enamel hypoplasia, incisor rotation, incisor inclination, canine inclination, and oral hygiene registered preoperatively, all correlated negatively to the modified Bergland index at 10 years after surgery. Enamel hypoplasia (ρ = 0.70195, P < .0001), followed by canine inclination (ρ = 0.55429, P < .0001), showed the strongest correlation to reduced bone height in the cleft area. Conclusions : In patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate, excellent results from secondary alveolar bone grafting in terms of bone height in the alveolar cleft tend to decrease with time. This seems to be correlated with factors that might to some extent be treated preoperatively through adequate planning and execution of the orthodontic treatment.

Early dimensional changes in maxillary cleft size and arch dimensions of children with cleft lip and palate and cleft palate.

Objective : To study early changes in cleft size and maxillary arch dimensions and to evaluate these changes in relation to performed surgical procedures. Design : Retrospective longitudinal study. Setting : The Cleft Lip and Palate Center, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden. Patients : Dental study models of 79 consecutive children (28 with unilateral cleft lip and palate, 39 with cleft palate, and 12 with Pierre Robin sequence) were analyzed. Interventions : Lip repair at 3 to 4 months, soft palate repair at 6 to 10 months, and hard palate repair at 25 to 26 months of age. Main Outcome Measures : Cleft size was measured before each surgical intervention up to 2 years and arch dimensions were measured before each surgical intervention and at 5 years. Results : Cleft widths decreased from infancy up to 2 years, but the anteroposterior cleft length in cleft palate was unchanged. Arch widths between cuspid points (C-C1) and tuberosity points (T-T1) and also the change over time in C-C1 and T-T1 differed significantly between the groups from infancy up to 5 years. Conclusions : Cleft widths decreased after lip closure and/or soft palate closure. The children with unilateral cleft lip and palate had wider maxillary arch dimensions than the children with cleft palate or Pierre Robin sequence during the first years of life, but after hard palate closure the transverse growth was reduced in the children with unilateral cleft lip and palate. At 5 years the children with unilateral cleft lip and palate had similar maxillary widths as the children with cleft palate and/or Pierre Robin sequence.

Long-term influence of infant periosteoplasty on facial growth and occlusion in patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate.

This retrospective, long-term study evaluated the influence of two different treatment protocols, one including infant periosteoplasty, on facial growth and occlusion in patients with complete bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP). Thirty-five patients with records of 5-, 8- and 16-19-year-olds were included. Sixteen of these received infant periosteoplasty (BCLP-pp) to the cleft alveolus in conjunction with lip repair and a one-stage closure of the palate. The remaining 19 patients with a two-stage closure of the palate did not have an infant periosteoplasty (BCLP-np). The bone formation induced by periosteoplasty in the BCLP-np group was insufficient and both groups had secondary bone grafting to the alveolar clefts before the eruption of the lateral incisor or the canine. Facial growth was evaluated with cephalometry at the recorded ages and dental arch relationships with the Huddart and Bodenham crossbite scores at the age of 16-19 years. Until 19 years a significant retrusion of the maxillary position (SNA) was observed in both groups. At 16-19 years of age there was no significant difference of maxillary protrusion (SNA), intermaxillary position (ANB), maxillary length (ss-pm) or vertical skeletal relationships (ML/NSL, Ml/NL) between the two groups. However, a significant difference of the crossbite scores was found. The BCLP-pp group did not show more facial growth problems but more malocclusion and the insufficient bone formation of the alveolar clefts after infant periosteoplasty required a secondary bone grafting.

Facial clefts involving the midline in combination with intracranial anomalies: case studies illustrating surgical treatment and medical substitution.

Malmö and Uppsala have been regional centres for the treatment of cleft lip and palate since the beginning of the 1950s. We have about 80 new cases every year and most patients have conventional oronasal clefts, either cleft lip and palate or isolated cleft palate. During a 10-year period we have come across four patients who have had varying degrees of midface dysplasia combined with intracranial anomalies. One child died at an early age, but the other three children were given medical substitution of hypopituitarism and have had their clefts reconstructed.

Early release of interalveolar synechiae under general anesthesia through fiberscopic nasal intubation.

This article presents a treatment strategy for early release of interalveolar synechiae, aiming to facilitate early oral feeding and prevent temporomandibular joint ankylosis.The treatment results of 2 patients with van der Woude syndrome were retrospectively studied. Both patients underwent early surgical release of interalveolar synechiae under general anesthesia through fiberscopic nasal intubation. The 2 patients were treated at the ages of 6 and 14 days, respectively. The interincisival distances increased from 5 and 6 mm preoperatively to 11 and 10 mm immediately after surgery. This was increased further to 25 and 20 mm at long-term follow-up (6 and 24 months).In conclusion, synechiae between the upper and lower jaws can be safely treated at a very early age under general anesthesia with fiberscopic nasotracheal intubation. The purpose of early intervention in these cases is to facilitate oral feeding and prevent temporomandibular joint ankylosis.

EDITOR'S CHOICE: objective assessment of the nasal airway in unilateral cleft lip and palate--a long-term study.

OBJECTIVE: To objectively evaluate the nasal function in adults operated on for unilateral cleft lip and palate with one-stage or two-stage palate closure. DESIGN: The population consists of all unilateral cleft lip and palate patients born from 1960 to 1987 and treated at the Cleft Lip and Palate Center, Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden. The patients were treated according to the same protocol except for palate closure, which was performed in one stage until 1977 and in two stages thereafter. Eighty-three patients participated. Mean follow-up time after primary surgery was 32 years. An age-matched control group underwent the same examinations. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Nasal minimum cross-sectional area (cm(2)) and volume (cm(3)) were assessed (acoustic rhinometry). Airflow resistance (Pa s/cm(3)) (rhinomanometry), peak inspiratory flow (L/min) (peak nasal inspiratory flow), and number of identified odors (Scandinavian Odor Identification Test) were determined. RESULTS: The cleft side of unilateral cleft lip and palate patients had significantly lower values for all parameters compared with controls (p < .001). No difference was found between one-stage and two-stage procedures in values for the cleft side. However, the nasal area and volume of the noncleft side were significantly larger in patients who underwent one-stage as compared with two-stage procedures (p < .05). CONCLUSION: The nasal airway of unilateral cleft lip and palate patients demonstrates a wide range of impairments that can be quantified by objective measurements. However, the measurements used did not differentiate between patients operated on with the one-stage and two-stage procedures except for values of the noncleft side.

Association between cleft size and crossbite in children with cleft palate and unilateral cleft lip and palate.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between cleft size in infancy and crossbite at 5 years of age in children with cleft palate (CP) and unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden. PATIENTS: Dental study models of 80 consecutive children, 51 children with CP and 29 children with UCLP, born between 1990 and 1999 were analyzed. INTERVENTIONS: Lip repair at 3 to 4 months in UCLP children. Primary soft palate repair at 6 to 10 months and secondary hard palate closure at 25 to 26 months of age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Maxillary arch dimensions and cleft size were measured on infancy dental casts. At follow-up at 5 years, crossbite scores were registered on dental study models. RESULTS: The cleft dimensions in infancy showed large interindividual variation. Mean posterior cleft width was larger in UCLP children than in children with CP. The UCLP group also had significantly more crossbite at 5 years than the CP group. No significant association was noted between initial cleft size and crossbite scores at 5 years in the CP group. For the UCLP group, larger cleft widths at the level of the cuspid points were significantly associated with less anterior and posterior crossbite. CONCLUSIONS: The findings support the hypothesis that cleft size in infancy affects early outcome with respect to crossbite in children with UCLP, but not in children with CP.

Intravelar veloplasty reinforced with palatopharyngeal muscle: a review of a 10-year consecutive series.

We describe a technique by which the intravelar veloplasty was reinforced by including the superior part of posterior pillars and their palatopharyngeal muscle sheet in patients with cleft lip and palate. Our aim was to increase the functional length and strength of the velum and to reduce nasal emission and the need for pharyngeal flaps. Since 1990 more than 200 patients have been operated on in this way at Uppsala University Hospital. This is a retrospective follow-up of 162 consecutive patients operated on by two senior surgeons between 1990 and 2000. We describe the technique, timing, and operative observations as well as the outcome and the need for revision of the palatoplasty in some cases because of complications. To facilitate speech, 21 patients born between 1990 and 1997 (16%) were provided with a pharyngeal flap.

Reduction mammaplasty and the use of dextran against thromboembolism.

A retrospective study was conducted on 98 consecutive patients who had reduction mammaplasty done by different techniques during 1995, to find out the effect of dextran 70 on operative blood loss and postoperative complications. The most common procedure was reduction with a laterally based flap (n = 67) followed by a Lejour vertical mammaplasty (n = 15) and a medially based flap (n = 12). Four had other operations. Dextran 70 was given peroperatively to 64 patients and their median (range) blood loss was 350 (30-1000) ml and drainage volume 80 (10-465) ml. In 33 patients not treated with dextran 70 the median (range) blood loss was 200 (25-650) ml and the drainage volume 40 (0-115) ml. Ten patients developed major complications and 16 minor complications and there was no difference in the complication rate between those given dextran 70 (18/64, 28%) and those who were not (8/33, 24%), p = 0.8. Complications were no more common in smokers, overweight patients or those whose breasts were reduced by more than 1500 g, but there was a tendency to find more complications after the Lejour vertical mammaplasty. In conclusion, the study shows that patients undergoing mammaplasty and given Dextran 70 have an acceptable blood loss and drainage. In patients with a high risk of developing thromboembolism there is a need for a prophylactic agent and this study shows that dextran 70 may safely be used during reduction mammaplasty.