Surgical outcome and complications following cleft lip and palate repair in a teaching hospital in Nigeria.

BACKGROUND

Measurement of treatment outcome is important in estimating the success of cleft management. The aim of this study was to assess the surgical outcome of cleft lip and palate surgery.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The surgical outcome of 131 consecutive patients with cleft lip and palate surgeries between October 2008 and December 2010 were prospectively evaluated at least 4 weeks postoperatively. Data collected included information about the age, sex, type of cleft defects, and type of surgery performed as well as postoperative complications. For cleft lip repair, the Pennsylvania lip and nose (PLAN) score was used to assess the surgical outcome, while the integrity of the closure was used for cleft palate repair.

RESULTS

A total of 92 patients had cleft lip repair and 64 had palate repair. Overall, 68.8% cases of cleft lip and palate repair had good outcomes; 67.9% of lip repairs had good lip and nose scores, while 70.2% of palatal repair had a good surgical outcome. Oro-fistula was observed in 29.8% of cleft palate repairs Inter-rater reliability coefficient was substantially significant.

CONCLUSIONS

The fact that 25.7% of those treated were aged >1 year suggests a continued need to enlighten the public on the availability of cleft lip and palate expertise and treatment. Although an overall good treatment outcome was demonstrated in this study, the nasal score was poorer than the lip score. Complication rate of about 14% following surgical repair is consistent with previous reports in the literature.