Three-Dimensional Assessment of Eustachian Tube in Patients With Cleft Palate Versus Controls: A CBCT Study

Objective To compare the morphological characteristics of the Eustachian tube (ET) between patients with cleft palate and healthy controls with the use of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Design Retrospective assessment of treated nonsyndromic patients with cleft palate and a control group. Participants CBCT images of 51 patients with cleft palate who had previously undergone surgery to close the cleft palate and a control group of 51 patients were included in this study. Syndromic patients were excluded. Methods The cleft group were divided into 3 groups according to the palatoplasty technique, which was done in the infancy period to close the cleft palate (Nadjmi modification of Furlow, Sommerlad, and V-Y pushback). Finally, ET length (ETL), ET angle, and auditory tube angle (ATA) were measured in all patients. Results The ETL, ETA, and ATA in the cleft and the normal control groups were 29.73 ± 3.14 and 32.18 ± 3.34 mm, 33.18 ± 2.57 and 35.40 ± 3.93, and 141.64 ± 4.13 and 138.87 ± 4.96, respectively. All 3 features were statistically significant among the groups (All Ps