Direct Assessment of Nose and Upper Lip Morphology after Presurgical Nasoalveolar Molding in Complete Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Patients
Montian Manosudprasit DDS, MDS, FRCDT*, Aggasit Manosudprasit DDS, DScD*, Siriya Pattarasiriporn DDS*
Affiliation : * Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Objective : To evaluate the changes of the nose and upper lip morphology at two weeks after using presurgical nasoalveolar
molding (PNAM) in unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) patients.
Material and Method: Twelve infants with UCLP were treated with Khon Kaen University PNAM (KKU PNAM). Direct
measurements of the nose and lip were recorded at initial visit (T1) and two weeks after KKU PNAM (T2). Paired t-test was
used to compare statistically between T1 and T2.
Results : Two weeks after the treatment, significant changes were observed in the measurements at T2 compared to T1
(p<0.05). There was a significant increase in the columella length and the height of the nostril. Columella deviation and nostril
width were significantly reduced. Moreover, the soft tissue gap, vermillion gap and lip protrusion were also significantly
decreased.
Conclusion : These nose and lip morphology of the patients with complete unilateral cleft lips and palate were improved by
the lip strapping and nasal molding device of KKU PNAM which possibly could help towards improvement of the surgical
outcomes of cheiloplasty and nasal surgery.
Keywords : Unilateral cleft lip and palate, Presurgical nasoalveolar molding, Direct assessment
