Presurgical Presentation of Columellar Features, Nostril Anatomy, and Alveolar Alignment in Bilateral Cleft Lip and Palate After Infant Orthopedics With and Without Nasoalveolar Molding

Objectives: (1) To evaluate quantitative differences in presurgical presentations of alveolar alignment and nostril anatomy of infants with BCLP treated with nasoalveolar molding (NAM) from those treated with maxillary infant orthopedics only (IO) and (2) to detect interrelationships between presurgical nasoalveolar anatomy, age at lip surgery, age of commencing, and durations of alveolar and nasal molding. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on nasal-alveolar measurements and presurgical treatment records of infants with BCLP who received lip repair by a single surgeon in a tertiary-care, referral teaching hospital consecutively from 2000 to 2009 after undergoing NAM (n = 29; 51 nostrils) or IO (n = 17; 32 nostrils). Paired t tests analyzed nostril and alveolar symmetry in each group. Intergroup comparisons were made by linear mixed-model regression analyses. Pearson's correlation tests were conducted to detect significant interrelationships within groups. Results: Significant between-group differences were noted in alveolar irregularity (NAM: 3.58 +/- 1.02 mm; IO: 7.31 +/- 1.28 mm; p < .01), columellar length (NAM: 2.88 +/- 0.27 mm; IO: 1.48 +/- 0.34 mm; p < .001), columellar width (NAM: 6.10 +/- 0.21 mm; IO: 6.88 +/- 0.26 mm; p < .01), columellar length/width ratio (NAM: 0.48 +/- 0.05; IO: 0.20 +/- 0.07; p < .05), and columellar angle (NAM: 0.98 +/- 1.1 degrees; IO: 3.69 +/- 1.37 degrees; p < .05). Differences in age of commencing presurgical orthopedics, lip surgery, and treatment durations were not significant. Better-aligned alveolar segments in the NAM group did not statistically correlate with nostril dimensions. Alveolar irregularity and nostril height in the IO group strongly correlated. Conclusions: Infants who received NAM had longer columellae and better-aligned alveolar segments than those who received only IO. Other nostril dimensions were not significantly different.