Three-Dimensional Analysis of Morphological Changes in the Maxilla of Patients with Cleft Lip and Palate

Author(s):  
Bert Braumann ◽  
Ludger Keilig ◽  
Christoph Bourauel ◽  
Andreas Jäger

Objective Three-dimensional (3-D) morphological changes in the maxilla of patients with cleft lip and palate (CLP) have been recorded, mainly using two-dimensional cast analyses. Although these seem to be insufficient, no standardized 3-D method has been developed until now. In this study, accuracy, precision, and validity of a newly developed 3-D digital computer-aided procedure to visualize and metrically analyze the growth of the edentulous maxilla of infants with CLP have been evaluated. Patients The method was applied to 10 infants with complete unilateral CLP. Interventions Consecutive casts of the maxilla (1 week and 3, 6, and 12 months) of each patient were optically measured with a 3-D laser scanner. Following digitizing, the casts were computer reconstructed, aligned, and superimposed using specialized computer software. The distances between the surfaces were measured. Additionally, the surfaces were segmented perpendicular to the alveolar crest, the reference points being C1, C1′, C2, C2′, and I. The volumes of the resulting segments were determined and compared with one another. Results The newly developed analysis enables a visualization of the extent and direction of morphological changes in the maxilla of infants with CLP. With this method it is possible to quantify these changes of the volume of defined alveolar segments. Conclusions The 3-D analysis developed is an ideal tool for the examination of 3-D morphological changes in the edentulous maxilla of patients with CLP. The results will serve as the starting point for a longitudinal study on the efficacy of different methods, not only of presurgical infant orthopedics but also of surgical procedures.

2005 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 633-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norifumi Nakamura ◽  
Akira Suzuki ◽  
Hideki Takahashi ◽  
Yasuo Honda ◽  
Masaaki Sasaguri ◽  
...  

Objective The goal of this study was to use three-dimensional (3D) analysis to characterize the primary facial deformities in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) and then serially analyze the relationships between facial deformities and maxillofacial growth from infancy to adolescence. Participants Twenty-one Japanese subjects with unilateral cleft lip and alveolus (UCLA) and 20 with UCLP who had been operated on and then followed up for more than 15 years were enrolled in this study. Main Outcome Measures Facial cast models taken at cheiloplasty were scanned with a 3D laser scanner. Lateral cephalographs taken when subjects were 15 years of age or older were traced, and linear and angular measurements were calculated. The correlation between primary facial forms and maxillofacial morphology in adolescence was analyzed. Results Three-dimensional analysis showed larger ocular hypertelorism, wider cleft, greater deviation of the columella base, and more severe retruded position of the affected nasal alar base in subjects with UCLP than those with UCLA. Total surface area of the upper lips in subjects with UCLP was significantly smaller than those with UCLA. Correlation analyses revealed that the width of cleft lip, deviation of the columella base, difference of the nose base width, and surface area of the upper lip were statistically correlated with the maxillary length, the anterior position of the maxillary alveolar base, the posterior facial height, and the high angle of the mandible. Conclusion The subjects who had less severe facial deformities and more tissue volume of the upper lips at cheiloplasty showed better maxillofacial growth.


2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (5) ◽  
pp. 519-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara C. M. Oosterkamp ◽  
Wicher J. van der Meer ◽  
Majelle Rutenfrans ◽  
Pieter U. Dijkstra

Objective: To assess the reliability and validity of measurements performed on three-dimensional virtual models of neonatal bilateral cleft lip and palate patients, compared with measurements performed on plaster cast models. Materials and Methods: Ten high-quality plaster cast models of bilateral cleft lip and palate patients were scanned with an LDI-scanner to obtain a three-dimensional virtual model. Linear measurements were performed on the plaster cast models using a digital caliper and also on the three-dimensional virtual model using Viscam RP version 2.1 software. The measurements were performed by two observers on two occasions. Results: Intraclass correlations ranging from .81 to .96 were found for all measurements except the measurement between the constructed reference point pr and reference point i (intraclass correlation = .40). A post hoc procedure in which top-view screen prints of the three-dimensional virtual model were used to perform the measurement between reference points pr and i demonstrated an intraclass coefficient of .90. Conclusions: Three-dimensional virtual models obtained by laser scanning neonatal cast models of bilateral cleft lip and palate patients can be used reliably and validly to perform linear measurements between existing reference points on the surface of the model using Viscam RP version 2.1 software. Measurements between reference points constructed outside the surface of the model cannot be validly performed on the three-dimensional virtual model with the software used in this study. For these measurements, top-view screen prints of the three-dimensional virtual model can be used.


2003 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 363-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bert Braumann ◽  
Ludger Keilig ◽  
Angelika Stellzig-Eisenhauer ◽  
Christoph Bourauel ◽  
Stefaan Bergé ◽  
...  

Objective Because of significant differences in pathomorphology at birth, it may be that a better treatment outcome prognosis exists for patients with incomplete versus complete cleft forms. Can reaction patterns be extracted from changes in maxillary dimensions of different cleft forms within the first year of life to support this hypothesis? Subjects Chronologically consecutive casts of the maxilla (1 week and 3, 6, and 12 months of life) of 15 patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (cUCLP) and 13 patients with incomplete unilateral cleft lip and palate (iUCLP). All patients were treated with passive palatal plates. Cheiloplasty was performed at 6 months of age. No primary osteoplastic surgery was carried out. Interventions Following digitizing with a three-dimensional laser scanner, all cast surfaces were computer reconstructed, aligned, and superimposed. Distances between the surfaces were determined and expressed graphically. Computer-aided determination of defined maxillary dimensions was performed. The volumes of segmented surfaces were determined and compared. Results Within the first year of life, decreased sagittal but increased transverse alveolar growth for patients with iUCLP was found. The increase in alveolar crest length in patients with iUCLP was 50% less within the first year of life than in patients with cUCLP. In the same patients, the volumes of the molar segments were, on average, larger at each registration stage and the increase in these volumes larger within the first year of life. Conclusion Conclusions regarding the direction and extent of growth cannot be drawn from the visible level of severity of the malformation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edoardo Staderini ◽  
Romeo Patini ◽  
Andrea Camodeca ◽  
Federica Guglielmi ◽  
Patrizia Gallenzi

The applications of computer-guided technologies for three-dimensional image analysis provide a unique opportunity to quantify the morphological dimensional changes of the face in a practical and convenient way. Symmetry of the nasolabial area is one of the main factors of facial attractiveness as well as being the main objective of the treatment of cleft lip and palate (CLP). Technological advances in computer-guided visualization modes and their applications to three-dimensional stereophotogrammetry provide more practical opportunities and alternatives for facial analysis. Each study, however, uses different protocols for the acquisition and analysis of three-dimensional images. In addition, each study identifies different anthropometric points and calculates linear and angular measurements with overlapping protocols. Therefore, it is appropriate to define a standardization of the three-dimensional analysis of CLP patients to compare the studies of different research centers. The aim of this report is to propose a protocol to standardize the acquisition and analysis of three-dimensional images to evaluate the three-dimensional changes in the nasolabial area in cleft lip and palate patients undergoing pre-surgical nasoalveolar molding (PNAM).


2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (5) ◽  
pp. 519-525 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taiji Kitagawa ◽  
Hiroshi Kohara ◽  
Taiji Sohmura ◽  
Junzo Takahashi ◽  
Takashi Tachimura ◽  
...  

Objective This study examined dentoalveolar growth changes prior to the time of palatoplasty up to 3 years of age by the early two-stage Furlow and push-back methods. Subjects Thirty-four Japanese patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) treated with either a two-stage Furlow procedure (Furlow group: seven boys, eight girls) from 1998 to 2002 or a push-back procedure (push-back group; 12 boys, 7 girls) from 1993 to 1997. Method Consecutive plaster models were measured by three-dimensional laser scanner, before primary palatoplasty, before hard palate closure (Furlow group only), and at 3 years of age. Bite measures were taken at 3 years of age. Results In the Furlow group, arch length, canine width, first and second deciduous molar width and cross-sectional area, and depth and volume at midpoint showed greater growth than in the push-back group. In the Furlow group, the crossbite score was also better than in the push-back group at 3 years of age. In comparison with the push-back group, inhibition of growth impediment in the anterior region was observed in the horizontal direction in the Furlow group. In the midregion, it was observed in the horizontal and vertical directions, and in the posterior region it was observed in the horizontal direction. Conclusion The results demonstrate that the early two-stage Furlow method showed progressive alveolar growth. Therefore, the early two-stage Furlow method is a more beneficial procedure than the push-back method.


2006 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 168-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jakob Brief ◽  
Jan H. Behle ◽  
Angelika Stellzig-Eisenhauer ◽  
Stefan Hassfeld

Objective To quantify the precision of landmark positioning on digitized casts of patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate. Patients Forty plaster models of newborns up to 8 months of age were selected from the archive of the Department of Orthodontics of the University of Heidelberg. Material and Method The plaster-cast models were digitized with a Micromeasure 70 three-dimensional laser scanner (Micromeasure, Bischoffen, Germany). The laser scanner used in this study operates with a precision of 0.15 mm on the x- and y-axes and 0.06 mm on the z-axis. In the intraobserver study, a single observer placed anatomical landmarks in four rounds, with at least 4 weeks between each round. In the interobserver study, four different observers each placed the same landmarks once. For the two different studies, an ideal location for each landmark was calculated by averaging the landmark positions of the four rounds or observers. The distance between each of the four landmark positions and the ideal landmark was measured. Results A 95% confidence interval for the landmark positioning error was calculated. For the intraobserver investigation, this error was 0.34 to 1.30 mm, and for the interobserver investigation it was 0.7 to 2.00 mm. Conclusion Because both investigations displayed comparable error intervals, it was concluded that different observers could perform landmark positioning for the same studies.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prasad Nalabothu ◽  
Benito K. Benitez ◽  
Michel Dalstra ◽  
Carlalberta Verna ◽  
Andreas A. Mueller

The aim of this cohort study was to quantify the morphological changes in the palatal cleft and true cleft areas with passive plate therapy using a new analysis method based on three-dimensional standardized reproducible landmarks. Forty-five casts of 15 consecutive patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate were laser scanned and investigated retrospectively. The landmarks and the coordinate system were defined, and the interrater and intrarater measurement errors were within 1.0 mm. The morphological changes of the cleft palate area after a period of 8 months of passive plate therapy without prior lip surgery are presented graphically. The median decrease in cleft width was 38.0% for the palatal cleft, whereas it was 44.5% for the true cleft. The width of the true and palatal cleft decreased significantly over a period of 8 months. The true cleft area decreased by 34.7% from a median of 185.4 mm2 (interquartile range, IQR = 151.5–220.1) to 121.1 mm2 (IQR = 100.2–144.6). The palatal cleft area decreased by 31.5% from a median of 334 mm2 (IQR = 294.9–349.8) to 228.8 mm2. The most important clinical considerations are the reproducibility and reliability of the anatomical points, as well as the associated morphological changes. We propose using the vomer edge to establish a validated measuring method for the width, area, and height of the true cleft.


2002 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 527-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasuo Honda ◽  
Akira Suzuki ◽  
Norifumi Nakamura ◽  
Masamichi Ohishi

Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the relationship between the severity of maxillary defects and maxillofacial growth from infancy to adolescence in children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). Subjects: Thirty-one Japanese children with UCLP who had received cheiloplasty, palatoplasty, and orthodontic treatments at the Kyushu University Dental Hospital were selected. Materials and Methods: A three-dimensional laser scanner was used to measure maxillary dental casts taken at cheiloplasty. Surface areas and volumes of the palatal tissue were calculated. Lateral cephalographs that were taken both at cheiloplasty and 15 years of age or over (average age 16.5 years) were traced and digitized. Angular and linear measurements were calculated from the x, y-coordinates. Using correlation analyses, defects in the palatal tissue were compared with maxillofacial morphology both at cheiloplasty and in adolescence or maxillofacial growth during that time span. Results: (1) The surface areas or volumes of the palatal tissue were significantly correlated with the following maxillofacial measurements at infancy and adolescence: Or-depth; A-depth; PNS-height; ANS-height; N-Ba; S-N; S-Ba; N to P.P; A'-Ptm’; Cd-Pog; Cd-Gn; Cd-G; and the N-S-Ba, S-N-A, and A-N-B angles. (2) They were also significantly correlated with the following maxillofacial growth measures from infancy to adolescence: A-depth, S-Ba, and the N-S-Ba and S-N-A angles. Only the N-S-Ba angle showed a negative correlation. Conclusion: The patient who had more palatal tissue at cheiloplasty showed better maxillofacial growth.


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