Two-stage palatoplasty,is it still a valuable treatment protocol for patients with a cleft of lip,alveolus, and palate?

IntroductionSpeech development is of utmost importance and requires early closure of a palatal cleft. On the other hand, it is well known that all types and timings of surgical repair of facial clefts are detrimental to maxillary growth. Nevertheless, these days one is more and more confronted with a world-wide tendency in favour of the one-in-all operation to close clefts of the lip, alveolus, and palate. Therefore, a three-centre study was performed for testing – once more – the value of two-stage palatoplasty as a means to reduce the detrimental effects of surgery on palatal growth and at the same time to also enable early speech development.Material and methodsPlaster casts from 85 patients have been re-evaluated. All of them had a complete unilateral cleft of lip, alveolus, and palate. They had been treated according to the old therapy protocols followed in either one of the three different cleft centres many years ago, namely in Hamburg, (Western) Germany, Iowa City, IO, USA, and Rostock, (in those days still Eastern) Germany. The impressions had been taken already in 1987 from patients being either 8 years (36 pts.) or 16 years of age (49 pts.). Three different treatment protocols had been followed for these patients in those centres in those days: The main difference was that in centres A and B the palates were closed in two stages whilst in centre C palatoplasty was performed in just one operation.ResultsThe most interesting results regarding the palatal growth were that: 1. In centre C (one-stage palatoplasty) the patients had more constricted palates. 2. In centre A (two-stage palatoplasty) the patients had least often an anterior cross-bite.Discussion and ConclusionIt appears that it was possible to show once more that closing the palate in one stage at age 1 year or less is interfering most with maxillary growth. This study leads us to conclude that two-stage palatoplasty is still a valuable treatment protocol for patients with a complete unilateral cleft of lip, alveolus, and palate, especially as apparently good guidance of speech development can lead to satisfactory speech for cleft patients in whom the hard palate was closed at a later age.     

Early or delayed palatoplasty in complete unilateral cleft lip and palate patients? A systematic review of the effects on maxillary growth

The aim of this study was to review the effects of early and late hard palate repair on maxillary growth. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, Cochrane Library CENTRAL databases, OpenGrey, Google Scholar, and Clinical Trials were searched using a PICO strategy, with terms related to unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and timing of repair. Methodological quality evaluation was carried out using the Fowkes and Fulton guidelines, and quality (or certainty) of evidence and strength of recommendations were evaluated using GRADE (grading of recommendations, assessment, development and evaluation). Five retrospective and non-randomized studies were included in the study. Folkes and Fulton assessment showed a high risk of bias in all articles and very low levels of certainty (GRADE). The results showed conflicting findings for comparisons of the effects of timing of repair of hard palate in UCLP. Two studies presented better maxillary growth in a group operated on later (18 months after birth), two presented no differences between the results, and another presented better results in the group operated on earlier than 18 months of age. At this point, it cannot be proven or refuted that postponing hard palate surgery brings benefits for maxillary growth. Studies included in this review did not show similar conclusions. Randomized clinical trials present some ethical issues that make them difficult to perform.     

What information do parents of newborns with cleft lip, palate, or both want to know?

BACKGROUND: The unexpected birth of a baby with a cleft lip and palate (CL/P) is a shocking and traumatic experience, generating anxiety for parents as well as the attendant health care team. Parents frequently leave the hospital with many unanswered questions because health care professionals do not educate them adequately. OBJECTIVE: To determine what information these parents felt was "critical" for them during the immediate newborn period and to determine how the "informer" was perceived during these encounters. DESIGN: Retrospective, self-administered questionnaire. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Biologic parents of children with isolated CL/P aged 6 years and younger were surveyed. The questionnaire asked parents whether they remembered discussing diagnosis, prognosis, management, home care, and psychosocial issues. Parents were also asked to rank how "critical" it would have been for the "informer" to have discussed certain issues with them during this first day. RESULTS: Parents gave the highest priority to feeding and learning to identify illness in their baby; 95% wanted to be shown all normal aspects of their baby's exam, and 87% wanted to be told that the CL/P was not their fault. Usage of proper terminology to describe abnormal findings and receiving assurance that their child was not in pain were also important. Unfortunately, many parents reported that the informers did not address these issues. CONCLUSIONS: Parents of newborns with CL/P want basic information in the immediate newborn period, especially regarding feeding and recognizing illness. These data suggest that informers are not adequately discussing these issues with parents.     

Children with a cleft lip and palate: An exploratory study of the role of the parent–child interaction

IntroductionHaving a child with an orofacial cleft may be associated with a specific pattern of parenting. In order to investigate the parenting style, the present study assessed parent–child interactions during a problem-solving task performed under pressure.Material and methodsParent–child interactions were video recorded for 15 families with a child with a cleft lip and palate (CLP), which were then compared to 20 healthy families and 20 families with a child suffering from migraines. The children had to solve a puzzle within a specified time with either their mother or father.ResultsIn families with a child with CLP, mothers tried to support their children more often and children demonstrated more autonomous behaviour towards both parents than children in healthy and migraine-affected families. Moreover, the children with CLP relied less on their fathers for help and interrupted their fathers less frequently.ConclusionsAutonomous behaviour among children with CLP which is supported by their parents may represent psychosocial compensatory mechanisms in the family environment.     

Genetic origin of non-syndromic cleft lip and palate. TWIST, a candidate gene? Research protocol

Non syndromic cleft lip and palate (CLP) is the most frequent human malformation. CLP is of complex inheritance and at least twenty contributing chromosomal regions have been identified by linkage studies. On the other hand, mutations in several genes such as TWIST and FGFR2 result in syndromic cranio-facial abnormalities of highly variable range. It is our hypothesis that some mutations at TWIST might contribute to CLP in absence of other dysmorphic features. Thus, DNA biopsies of patients with non syndromic CLP are collected and prepared to search for allelic variations or mutations at TWIST. This study should contribute to improve the classification of facial malformations relative to gene, to help to a better understanding of the inheritance pattern of this pathology, to help to genetic counselling for some cases aiming at the prevention of genetic disease. This project is based on a close cooperation between the Orthodontic Department, the Paediatric Surgery Department and the Center for Clinical Investigation (University Hospital in Strasbourg), in a joint project with an academic research laboratory, expert in molecular biology and genetics.     

Cleft lip and palate: the psychological burden of affected parents during the first three years of their children’s lives

The surgical treatment of cleft lip and palate (CLP) has been well described in the literature. Nevertheless, little is known about the psychological burden of affected parents. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychological burden in parents of children with CLP within the first 3 years of the children’s lives. A standardized questionnaire (Parenting Stress Index, PSI) was administered to 33 parents of children with CLP to evaluate their psychological burden. The corresponding interview was conducted independent of any operative procedure during the yearly routine CLP consultation. Each participant’s stress profile was assessed and compared with the average values of parents with non-cleft children. Psychological stress was substantially increased in all participants when compared to the parents of healthy children. This result was highly significant (P < 0.001). Parent depression (P < 0.001) and child-related requirements (P < 0.001) were the most critical subscales in the stress profile. Overall, the child-related burden was greater than the parent-related burden. These results indicate that parents of children with CLP have a higher level of psychological stress than parents of non-cleft children. This psychological stress might be reduced if addressed by specialist clinical psychologists in cleft-treating centres.     

Complications of sevoflurane–fentanyl versus midazolam–fentanyl anesthesia in pediatric cleft lip and palate surgery: a randomized comparison study

Careful choice of anesthetic agents in pediatric patients reduces the frequency of anesthesia-related complications. The frequency and type of intraoperative and postoperative complications of sevoflurane–fentanyl versus midazolam–fentanyl anesthesia were compared in 140 consecutive children (aged 3 months to 10 years) undergoing cleft lip and palate repair. Midazolam–fentanyl anesthesia was induced with midazolam (0.05 mg/kg), fentanyl (0.005 mg/kg) and vecuronium (0.1 mg/kg), and maintained with the same agents according to the defined parametars. Sevoflurane–fentanyl anesthesia was induced and maintained with sevoflurane (5–8 vol% and 0.8–1 vol%, respectively) in an oxygen/air mixture and supplemented with fentanyl (0.005 mg/kg). Both groups were comparable in basic demographic data, hemodynamic and respiratory parameters. Difficult intubation occurred in 6 of 76 children (midazolam–fentanyl group) and 4 of 64 children (sevoflurane–fentanyl group) (P = 0.754). Ventricular extrasystole and bronchospasm occurred in one patient each in the sevoflurane–fentanyl group. Postoperatively, emergence agitation was observed in the sevoflurane–fentanyl group (17 cases; P < 0.001); postoperative nausea and vomiting occurred in 2 children (midazolam–fentanyl group) and 3 children (sevoflurane–fentanyl group) (P = 0.660). Midazolam-based anesthesia in children is safer than sevoflurane-based anesthesia regarding occurrence of emergence agitation.     

Awareness of and compliance with healthy oral habits reported by children and their parents in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea after a preventive programme

Objective: The study aimed to examine awareness of and compliance with healthy oral habits reported by children and their parents in Pyongyang, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), after a preventive programme.

Materials and methods: The data were collected in 2013 with self-completed, partly structured questionnaires from 1994 children aged 10 and 13 years and from 200 parents. Association between awareness of and compliance with healthy oral habits reported by the children and their parents was evaluated using Chi square tests and multivariate logistic regression analyses, children’s oral health habits according to themselves and their parents were analysed using McNemar’s test.

Results: Both children and their parents seemed to be familiar with healthy oral habits, although the awareness was not directly related to the reports of the children’s oral practices. Most of the children reported brushing their teeth at least twice a day, using fluoride toothpaste and drinking water for thirst but frequent sweet snacking was common. Children’s and their parents’ reports were consistent with regard to sweet snacking frequency (p?=?0.736) and the main thirst quencher (p?=?0.349).

Conclusions: Awareness of healthy oral habits appeared to be good among children and their parents. Unhealthy oral habits seemed to coincide with one another.     

Analysis of velopharyngeal function and speech outcomes of Sommerlad palatoplasty combined with sphincter pharyngoplasty in surgical repair of older patients with cleft palate：experience from a major craniofacial surgery centre in eastern China

We aimed to evaluate velopharyngeal function and speech outcomes of Sommerlad palatoplasty combined with sphincter pharyngoplasty in surgical repair of cleft palate in patients over five years old. Fifty-eight patients were reviewed between the years 2013 and 2017, 31 of whom were treated with Sommerlad palatoplasty combined with sphincter pharyngoplasty, (mean age 15 (range 9 - 22) years), and 27 were treated with Sommerlad palatoplasty alone (mean age 18 (range 10-25) years). Velopharyngeal function was evaluated by radiographic lateral cephalometry and nasoendoscopy. Hypernasality, nasal emissions, and intelligibility were used to assess speech. The rate of velopharyngeal competence was 20/31 in the palatoplasty plus pharyngoplasty group and 7/27 in the palatoplasty alone group after surgical treatment (p = 0.003). The improvements in hypernasality (p = 0.024), air emission (p = 0.004), and speech intelligibility (p = 0.004) in the palatoplasty plus pharyngoplasty group was better than that in the palatoplasty alone group. It has been suggested that the surgical approach with the palatoplasty together with the sphincter pharyngoplasty has a higher rate of success in surgical repair of older patients with cleft palate.