CT appearances of unilateral cleft palate 20 years after bone graft surgery.
OBJECTIVE
To describe CT appearances in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (CLP) 20 years after bone graft surgery.


METHODS
Eighteen consecutive patients with unilateral CLP were examined. All patients had been treated with primary closure, both in infancy and early childhood, supplemented with bone grafting at the age of around 10 years. The CT examination of the upper jaw included a dental CT program. The CT appearances of the cleft side were compared with those of the untreated non-cleft side.


RESULTS
Abnormal CT appearances included skew nasal aperture (n=17), nasal septal deviation (n=17), low floor of nasal aperture (n=15) at or towards the cleft side, and deviation of anterior nasal spine towards the non-cleft side (n=18). The posterior part of the bone cleft was visible in all patients, and the dental arch was V-shaped in 8.


CONCLUSIONS
Although adherence to the present treatment protocol is considered to give satisfactory functional and cosmetic results, certain abnormalities persist. A knowledge of these is a prerequisite for a complete and final evaluation of the surgical and orthodontic regimen.
Kolbenstvedt
A
A
Department of Radiology, Rikshospitalet and Institute of Clinical Dentistry, Oslo, Norway.
Aaløkken
T M
TM
Arctander
K
K
Johannessen
S
S
D016025:Bone Transplantation; D002648:Child; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000601:surgery*; D003724:Dental Arch / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008297:Male; D008437:Maxilla / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D009295:Nasal Bone / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009666:Nose / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed