Functional 3-D analysis of patients with unilateral cleft of lip, alveolus and palate (UCLAP) following lip repair.

INTRODUCTION

Particular importance is attached to lip repair cleft surgery, as numerous functional and aesthetic aspects have to be taken into account simultaneously. Spatial assessment of function and depiction of dynamic deviations is reasonable for describing surgical outcome in addition to long standing static analysis. This study aimed at 3D analysis of the oral area after reconstruction in patients with unilateral cleft lip, alveolus and palate.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Twelve patients with unilateral cleft lip, alveolus and palate who underwent surgery according to Tennison-Randall were enrolled in this study. Soft tissue dynamics was analysed during passive stretching and active contraction of the lips, and photogrammetry was used for comparing relative changes of length and displacement vectors. The spatial coordinates of surgically significant and reproducible landmarks along the red-white lip junction were analyzed.

RESULTS

Static analysis of the lips revealed a good result with far-reaching symmetry in all cases. Regarding dynamic behaviour, two groups could be distinguished showing clear differences of passive distension and contraction behaviour.

CONCLUSION

Despite nominally identical surgical techniques and comparable static-morphological outcomes, dynamic analysis revealed differences pointing to a need for optimization.