Alveolar cleft is one of the key links of cleft lip and palate reconstruction due to its close relationship with tooth and jaw coordination and nasolabial deformity. The alveolar bone graft repairs the hole in the gum ridge and stabilizes the bone arch, providing better support for the base of the nose and new bone for the roots of the developing teeth to grow into. Unfortunately, bone graft failure in the traditional way, even among minor clefts, bony hypoplasia, or absence that affects the nasal base and piriform rim, is common. Two-stage alveolar bone grafting, which has advantages in addressing the underlying skeleton and deficiency, could be an optional surgical procedure for nasal floor reconstruction in adult patients with a broad alveolar cleft.
Humans ; Adult ; Alveolar Bone Grafting/methods* ; Cleft Lip/surgery* ; Cleft Palate/surgery* ; Treatment Outcome ; Nose/abnormalities* ; Bone Transplantation/methods*

OBJECTIVES: To review the effectiveness of secondary alveolar bone grafting using iliac cancellous bone in patients with unilateral complete alveolar cleft and to investigate the factors influencing it. METHODS: A retrospective study of 160 patients with unilateral complete alveolar clefts who underwent iliac cancellous bone graft repair at the Department of Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, was conducted. Eighty patients in the young age group (6-12 years) and 80 in the old age group (≥13 years) were included. Bone bridge formation was determined using Mimics software, and the volume was measured to calculate the iliac implantation rate, residual bone filling rate, and resorption rate. The factors that affected bone grafting in both subgroups were investigated. RESULTS: Using bone bridge formation as the clinical success criterion, the success rate for the entire population was 71.25%, with a significant difference of 78.75% and 63.75% for the young and old age groups, respectively (P=0.036). The gap volume in the latter was significantly larger than that in the former (P<0.001). The factors that influenced bone grafting in the young group were the palatal bone wall (P=0.006) and history of cleft palate surgery (P=0.012), but only the palatal bone wall affected the outcome in the old age group (P=0.036). CONCLUSIONS The results of alveolar bone grafting for the old age group were worse than those for the young age group. The palatal bone wall was an important factor that affected alveolar bone grafting, and alveolar bone grafting in the young patients was influenced by the history of cleft palate surgery.
Humans ; Child ; Adolescent ; Cleft Palate/surgery* ; Cleft Lip/surgery* ; Retrospective Studies ; Cancellous Bone ; Treatment Outcome ; Alveolar Bone Grafting/methods* ; Bone Transplantation/methods*

The maxillofacial region has multiple functions such as breathing, language, and facial expressions. Children's maxillofacial development is a complex and long process, which is affected by many factors such as genetics, diseases, bad habits and trauma. Early detection, early diagnosis, and early treatment are important concepts in children's maxillofacial management. Digital technology medicine is an emerging technology based on medical imaging and anatomy that has emerged in recent years. The application of this technology in the field of clinical medicine will undoubtedly bring great benefits to children's maxillofacial management. This article summarizes the research on digital technology in children's maxillofacial management, and focuses on the research on children's malocclusion, children's OSA, cleft lip and palate and other related diseases.
Humans ; Child ; Cleft Lip/surgery* ; Cleft Palate/surgery* ; Digital Technology ; Respiration

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the relationship between alveolar cleft and secondary nasal deformity post unilateral cleft lip repair in adults. METHODS: A total of 27 patients aged 16-30 years old with unilateral secondary nasal deformity and alveolar cleft were included, 13 of whom underwent bone grafting. Spiral CT data of all preoperative and postoperative patients who had alveolar bone grafting were collected. Then, Mimics software was used for three-dimensional reconstruction to evaluate the correlation between the width, height, and volume of the alveolar cleft and those of the nasal deformity. The difference in nasal deformity before and after alveolar bone grafting was also explored. RESULTS: The width of the alveolar cleft was positively correlated with the difference in bilateral nostril floor width (P<0.05). As the effective depth of the alveolar cleft increased, the sub-alare inclination angle largened (P<0.05). However, no significant difference was found in the nasal deformity between before and after alveolar bone grafting. CONCLUSIONS Alveolar cleft is closely related to secondary nasal deformities post unilateral cleft lip repair, especially nasal floor deformities. Alveolar bone grafting benefits adult patients for the improvement of secondary nasal deformities post unilateral cleft lip repair.
Humans ; Adult ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Nose/surgery* ; Cleft Lip/surgery* ; Rhinoplasty/methods* ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Treatment Outcome ; Cleft Palate/complications*

Cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) are the most common craniofacial malformations in humans. Speech problems often persist even after cleft repair, such that follow-up articulation training is usually required. However, the neural mechanism behind effective articulation training remains largely unknown. We used fMRI to investigate the differences in brain activation, functional connectivity, and effective connectivity across CLP patients with and without articulation training and matched normal participants. We found that training promoted task-related brain activation among the articulation-related brain networks, as well as the global attributes and nodal efficiency in the functional-connectivity-based graph of the network. Our results reveal the neural correlates of effective articulation training in CLP patients, and this could contribute to the future improvement of the post-repair articulation training program.
Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Cleft Lip/surgery* ; Cleft Palate/surgery* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Reading

Objective: To investigate the middle ear function of the patients with cleft palate pre and post palatoplasty. Methods: 76 patients with cleft palate were investigated by clinical history and audiology examinations including electric otoscopy,tympanometry and click-ABR threshold. Results: The risk for middle ear function decreased with advancing age in the first 5 years. It was noticed that the otologic outcomes was related to the CP type. During long time follow-up, the frequency with the middle ear function disorder was always high within the CP patients but the proportion of the patients received tympanostomy tubes was low relatively. The prevalence of middle ear dysfunction did not differ with the time of cleft palate repair. Conclusion: The patients with cleft palate have middle ear function dysfunction in a long period of time,therefore a standard long-time follow-up system is necessary.
Acoustic Impedance Tests ; Child, Preschool ; Cleft Palate/surgery* ; Ear, Middle ; Humans ; Middle Ear Ventilation ; Otitis Media with Effusion/surgery*

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of preoperative prophylactic use of antibiotics on wound infection in patients with cleft lip. METHODS: Aretrospective study was conducted on the clinical data of 1 361 patients who underwent one-stage cleft lip repair in the Department of Cleft Lip and Palate in West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, from January 2015 to November 2018. The patients were divided into two groups according to whether prophylactic antibiotics were used or not. There were 594 patients in the prevention group, including 373 unilateral incomplete cleft lip (UICL) patients, 157 unilateral complete cleft lip (UCCL) patients, 25 bilateral incomplete cleft lip (BICL) patients, 39 bilateral complete cleft lip (BCCL) patients. There were 767 patients in the non-prophylactic group, including 482 UICL patients, 211 UCCL patients, 31 BICL patients, 43 BCCL patients. The relationship between preoperative and postoperative leukocyte count, preoperative and postoperative body temperature, and postoperative wound infection were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: No significant difference was observed in the leukocyte count and body temperature between both groups ( CONCLUSIONS The preoperative prophylactic use of antibiotics has no significant effect on the incidence of postoperative infection in patients undergoing cleft lip repair.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cleft Lip/surgery* ; Cleft Palate/surgery* ; Humans ; Infant ; Surgical Wound Infection/prevention & control*

OBJECTIVE: To study the comprehensive impact of scar and maxillary expansion combined with protraction on the development of maxilla with cleft lip and palate after repair operation. METHODS: In the original finite element model of the maxilla with cleft palate, a finite element model of the maxilla with cleft lip and palate was established by using Boolean operation in ANSYS. Scar force after cleft lip and palate repair and maxillary expansion force combined with protraction were added simultaneously to process the stress analysis. RESULTS: Maxillary deformation occurred in the three-dimensional direction. The comparison of displacements was as follows: X-axis>Z-axis>Y-axis. CONCLUSIONS Maxillary growth is significantly inhibited in the three-dimensional direction under the comprehensive impact of scar and maxillary expansion combined with protraction after repair operation, especially transverse and sagittal growth.
Cicatrix/pathology* ; Cleft Lip/surgery* ; Cleft Palate/surgery* ; Finite Element Analysis ; Humans ; Maxilla/surgery* ; Palatal Expansion Technique

OBJECTIVE: To analyze velopharyngeal closure patterns and speech characteristics of patients with congenital velopharyngeal insufficiency. METHODS: Patients visiting the Department of Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University between 2009 and 2017 were reviewed. Outcomes of subjective speech evaluation, including resonance, consonant articulation, and correction rate, were analyzed. Furthermore, the mobility of soft palate and pharyngeal walls under nasopharyngeal fiberscope were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 47 cases were retrieved and subjected to nasopharyngeal fiberscopic examination. Among them, 29 (61.7%) demonstrated a circular closure pattern, 16 (34.0%) showed a coronal pattern, and 2 (4.3%) had a sagittal pattern. Furthermore, 25 (53.2%) presented medium soft-palate mobility, 22 (46.8%) had weak lateral pharyngeal wall mobility, and 41 (87.2%) had no posterior pharyngeal wall mobility. Among all of the patients, 23 (48.9%) presented medium hypernasality, accounting for the highest proportion. Consonant misarticulation occurred in 89.4% of the cases. The articulation manners with the highest correction rate were in the following order: nasal, lateral, fricatives, stops, and affricates. The articulation places with the highest correction rate were in the following order: bilabial, alveolar, velar, and linguadental. CONCLUSIONS Circular closure was the most prevalent velopharyngeal closure pattern among patients with congenital velopharyngeal insufficiency, and consonant omission was the most common articulation abnormality.
China ; Cleft Palate/surgery* ; Humans ; Palate, Soft ; Pharynx ; Retrospective Studies ; Speech ; Treatment Outcome ; Velopharyngeal Insufficiency

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the risk factors of preoperative upper respiratory infections in children with cleft lips and palate (CLP) and investigate preventive measures to reduce infections and improve the quality of treatments. METHODS: A total of 510 children with CLP of ages 3 years old or younger were selected from hospital cases from June to December 2017. The test group comprised 50 children with upper respiratory infections, whereas the control group comprised 460 children without upper respiratory infections. A t-test and a multivariate logistic analysis were utilized to analyze the risk factors and to investigate the preventive measures. RESULTS: Feeding patterns, the presence of infected companions during hospitalization, and ventilation at night were statistically significant. The feeding patterns and the presence of infected companions during hospitalization were independent risk factors for upper respiratory infections in children with CLP. CONCLUSIONS Bottle feeding, infected companions during hospitalization, and the absence of window ventilation at night are risk factors for preoperative upper respiratory infections in children 3 years old or younger with CLP. Among the risk factors identified, feeding patterns and the presence of infected companion during hospitalization were the most influential. Medical staff members should streng-then corresponding health education and nursing measures to control the risk factors.
Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cleft Lip ; surgery ; Cleft Palate ; surgery ; Cross Infection ; prevention & control ; Humans ; Risk Factors