Facial Growth after Primary Periosteoplasty versus Primary Bone Grafting in Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate

A cephalometric evaluation of long-term changes resulting from two different surgical techniques for the correction of unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) was undertaken on a sample of 19 males with primary bone grafting, and 42 males with primary periosteoplasty from the Science Academy of the Czech Republic, Prague. Lateral cephalometric radiographs collected at approximately 10 and 15 years of age were traced, digitized, and analyzed using the finite-element method. Facial growth and development between the two groups were compared. Significant differences between the two groups were found in the upper face, the posterior part of the maxilla, the anterior bony chin, and nasal bone areas. The periosteoplasty group demonstrated significantly greater vertical development between anterior cranial base and the maxilla. The bony chin was larger and a greater inferior displacement of the posterior palate were found in the periosteoplasty group. An increased proclination in the nasal bone was observed in the bone graft group. This investigation both confirms the findings of a previous study of these sample populations, and provides additional important details regarding the differences between the groups.