Maxillary development and dental occlusion in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate after combined velar closure and lip-nose repair at different ages

Maxillary morphology and occlusal development were studied after simultaneous velar closure and lip/nose reconstruction in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate. Fifty-two Brazilian patients were divided into three groups according to the age at which they had had the one-stage operation (mean ages: 8, 18, and 77.5 months). They were compared with 30 similar white patients who had been operated on with a corresponding method, but where surgery had been carried out in three different stages. In general, differences in outcome between the groups were attributed to racial differences in facial morphology. The combined operation did not affect the transverse development or the overall occlusion and only slightly influenced the morphology of the maxillary incisor region. The palatal cleft width reduced significantly ( p < 0.001) after the combined procedure. However, the potential for this reduction seemed to be less when patients were operated on after their first year of life.