Objective: To evaluate and compare the effects of early primary closure of the hard palate on the anterior and posterior width of the maxillary arch in children with bilateral (BCLP) and unilateral (UCLP) cleft lip and palate during the first 4 years of life.
Design: A retrospective, mixed-longitudinal study.
Setting: Cleft Palate Center of the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg.
Subjects and methods: The present investigation analyzes longitudinally 42 children with UCLP and 8 children with BCLP between 1996 and 2000 with early simultaneous primary closure of lip and hard palate (4 to 5 months). Palatal arch width was measured on dental casts with a computer-controlled three-dimensional digitizing system, and their growth velocities were calculated from consecutive periods (mean follow-up 39 months). Differences in growth velocities were compared with those of 25 children with UCLP and 15 children with BCLP with delayed closure of hard palate (12 to 14 months).
Results and conclusions: There was no significant difference in terms of anterior and posterior maxillary width between early and delayed closure of hard palate within the first 4 years of life.