Simultaneous cleft lip and palate repair: an experimental study in beagles.

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that simultaneous lip and palate repair results in more severe craniofacial growth aberrations than lip repair or palate repair performed separately. Seventy-six purebred beagles were divided into five groups. Two of these groups were controls (unoperated and unrepaired animals); the three remaining groups were experimental (in one group only the lip was repaired, in another only the palate was repaired, and in the last the lip and palate were repaired simultaneously). Cephalometric measurements were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. In multivariate analysis, stepwise multiple regression and discrimination were applied to precisely assess the effects of the various surgical procedures. The results of this study indicate that simultaneous lip and palate repair results in more severe craniofacial growth aberrations than lip repair or palate repair performed separately.