Abstract:

Objective:The aim of this study was to assess the isolated effects of lip repair on inhibition of maxillary growth in patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate.Methods:The lateral cephalometric analysiswere applied to 20 patientswith unilat- eral cleft lip and palate who only had lip repaired in childhood, 32 patientswith unilateral cleft lip and palate who had both lip and palate repaired in childhood, as well as 37 normal Chinese of the same age as controls.Results:Both complete unilateral cleft lip and palate groups had almost the same significant degree of maxillary retrusion compared with the normal control group.Conclu- sion:Lip repair is one of important factors that could inhibit maxillary growth in patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate.

Key words: unilateral clift lip and palate, lip repair, maxillary growth