Effects of presurgical orthopedic treatment in infants with complete bilateral cleft lip and palate

Objective: To align the protruding premaxilla in infants with bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), an intraoral appliance (i.e., Hotz plate) and an extraoral appliance consisting of a band covering the head and elastics are used as a presurgical orthopedic treatment in our clinic. The aim of this study was to analyze the configuration and position of the premaxilla and the vomer in infants with BCLP and to investigate the factors generating deviation and bending of the vomer and twisting of the premaxilla. Patients: Palatal casts were obtained serially from 10 infants with complete BCLP from 1 to 3 months of age. Measurements: These casts were automatically measured using a highly accurate contact-type measuring apparatus. After three- dimensional wire frame models generated from the serial casts were automatically superimposed, the magnitude and direction of the shift were calculated. A discriminant analysis was used for investigation of predictor variables generating the twisting or bending vomer. Results and Conclusions: The vomer was found to be bent in two infants and the premaxilla was twisted in three infants. In the infants whose vomers were bent, the magnitude of the posterior shift of the premaxilla was greater than that of the inferior shift. A discriminant analysis indicated that at 1 month of age, a greater inclination and a smaller deviation of the vomer and a longer distance between the cleft edges of the lateral segments had a tendency to be associated with bending of the vomer or twisting of the premaxilla.