Primary septoplasty in the repair of unilateral complete cleft lip and palate.
BACKGROUND
The purpose of this study was to assess and compare nasal symmetry in patients who underwent correction of a complete unilateral cleft lip using the Afroze incision without and with primary septoplasty using a standardized two-dimensional photographic analysis.


METHODS
A prospective cohort study of 190 consecutive patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and alveolus with cleft palate treated with or without septoplasty using the Afroze incision technique was conducted at a high-volume center. Eighty-two patients operated on without primary septoplasty and 76 patients operated on with primary septoplasty were evaluated. Nasal symmetry was compared between patients using two-dimensional photographic analysis. Ratios between the cleft side and the non–cleft side for five parameters were used to assess symmetry: alar base–to–interpupillary line distance, columella-to–Cupid's bow distance, nostril gap area, nostril width, and nostril height. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to calculate differences between the two groups.


RESULTS
Patients operated on with primary septoplasty showed more nasal symmetry compared with patients operated on without septoplasty. This difference was statistically significant for columella-to–Cupid's bow distance, nostril gap area, and nostril height (p = 0.008, p < 0.001, and p < 0.001, respectively) and for the distance between alar base and the alar base–to–interpupillary line distance (p = 0.145) the difference was present but not statistically significant. For nostril width, no difference was found (p = 0.850).


CONCLUSIONS
Patients treated with primary septoplasty showed better results in terms of nasal symmetry when analyzed using two-dimensional photographic analyses.
Gosla-Reddy
Srinivas
S
Hyderabad and Mangalore, India; Bruges-Ostend, Belgium; and Nijmegen, The Netherlands From the GSR Institute of Craniofacial Surgery; Bruges Cleft and Craniofacial Center; Departments of Cariology and Preventive Dentistry, Orthodontics and Oral Biology and Head Cleft Palate Craniofacial Unit, and Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center; and A. B. Shetty Memorial Dental College and Hospital.
Nagy
Krisztian
K
Mommaerts
Maurice Y
MY
Reddy
Rajgopal R
RR
Bronkhorst
Ewald M
EM
Prasad
Rajendra
R
Kuijpers-Jagtman
Anne Marie
AM
Bergé
Stefaan J
SJ
D002648:Child; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000601:surgery*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000601:surgery*; D009666:Nose / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D010781:Photography / Q000379:methods; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012225:Rhinoplasty / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome