Analysis of midface asymmetry in patients with cleft lip, alveolus and palate at the age of 3 months using 3D-COSMOS measuring system

Introduction: Patients suffering from unilateral cleft lip, alveolus and palate exhibit a varying degree of asymmetry of the midface. Evaluation of this asymmetry can be carried out by means of 3D-CT, or a laser surface scanner. Material and Methods: In this paper, 3D-CT-scan data of 21 patients with unilateral clefts of lip, alveolus and palate were analysed using three-dimensional models. Evaluations of the 3D-models were carried out with the computer-aided 3D-operation simulator 3D-Cosmos. Results: Asymmetry was found in the orbital, nasal and maxillary regions. The infraorbital rims were displaced craniocaudally and horizontally as well as laterally of the cleft-sided piriform aperture. This asymmetry corresponded to a dislocation of the maxillary segment on the cleft side. A deficit in volume was not reliably found. Copyright 2002 European Association for Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.