Primary Repair of the Alveolar Cleft:

The Impact of Presurgical Infant Orthopedics on Oronasal Fistula Rates Following Cleft Repair: A Meta-Analysis

Background:

Presurgical infant orthopedics (PSIO) techniques were introduced to improve the outcomes achieved when treating children with complete cleft lip and palate. The effect of PSIO on the incidence of postoperative fistulae has never been reliably demonstrated. We conducted a meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of PSIO in reducing postoperative fistulas in patients with complete cleft lip and palate.

Methods:

A search of the PubMed and Embase databases was performed to identify relevant articles that included primary palate repairs of patients with unilateral or bilateral complete clefts, reported the incidence of postoperative fistulae, and explicitly stated if PSIO was used. Details including author, number of subjects, use of PSIO, and fistula rate were cataloged.

Results:

A review of the PubMed database yielded 1135 unique citations, and Embase yielded 507 articles. Review of these yielded 15 studies, comprising 1241 children, which met inclusion criteria. The overall rate of oronasal fistula development was 7.09%. The average fistula rate for studies using PSIO was 5.93% versus 9.71% in the non-PSIO group. This difference was not statistically significant ( P = .34).

Conclusions:

The use of PSIO prior to cleft lip and palate repair provides multiple benefits related to facial and nasal form and is supported by a body of literature. The effect of PSIO on the incidence of postoperative fistulae has received less attention in the literature. Our meta-analysis of the available literature does not provide evidence to support the premise that the use of PSIO affects the incidence of fistulae after cleft palate repair.

Generation of a bioengineered autologous bone substitute for palate repair: an in vivo study in laboratory animals

We carried out an in vivo study to evaluate the potential usefulness of a novel bioengineered bone substitute for the repair of palate defects in laboratory rabbits, using tissue-engineering methods. Our results showed that the use of a bioengineered bone substitute was associated with more symmetrical palate growth as compared to the controls, and the length and height of the palate were very similar on both sides of the palate, with differences from negative controls 4 months after artificial bone grafting for bone length. The histological analysis revealed that the regenerated bone was well organized and expressed osteocalcin. In contrast, bone corresponding to control animals without tissue grafting was immature, with areas of osteoid tissue and remodelling, as determined by MMP-14 expression. These results suggest that bone substitutes may be a useful strategy to induce the formation of a well-structured palate bone, which could prevent the growth alterations found in cleft palate patients. This opens a door to a future clinical application of these bone substitutes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Triangular with Ala Nasi (TAN) II repair of unilateral cleft lips with severe nasal deformity

BACKGROUND/INTRODUCTION

With our previous technique called triangular with ala nasi (TAN) repair, we combined the superiorities of these 2 popular techniques by approaching the skin, as in Tennison-Randall, and the muscle and nose, as in Millard. Although good results have been obtained in most patients, cleft lip nose (CLN) deformity could not entirely be corrected particularly in serious cleft patients. Therefore, we revised the technique, called the TAN II repair, by adding some nasal maneuvers including the bivectoral suspension sutures, alar buckling resection, and alar web resection.

METHODS

Forty-two consecutive patients (26 male and 16 female) with unilateral cleft lips were operated on using the TAN II technique in the last 5 years. The mean age at repair was 11.95 months (range, 3 to 120). The postoperative outcomes were assessed subjectively by Williams test and objectively by Lindsay-Farkas method.

RESULTS

The mean follow-up time was 16.3 months. No early complication involving hematoma, infection, wound dehiscence, or partial or total flap loss was encountered. The recoveries of 92.42% and 88.89% on average, when compared with the noncleft side, were obtained postoperatively.

CONCLUSIONS

With these modifications, the TAN II technique was able to correct the severe unilateral CLN deformities. We obtained good to excellent outcomes in late postoperative follow-up by means of a long-term suspension effect.