Quality of Life After Orthognathic Surgery in Patients with Cleft: An Overview of Available Patient-Reported Outcome Measures

OBJECTIVE: Measuring the impact of orthognathic surgery on quality of life is of significant importance in patients with cleft deformities. Standardized tools such as patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are needed to fully comprehend patients’ needs and perceptions. Therefore, the availability of reliable, valid, and comprehensive questionnaires for patients is essential. The aim of this study is to identify PROMs measuring the impact of orthognathic surgery on quality of life in patients with cleft deformities and to evaluate the identified PROMs. METHODS: A systematic search of the literature was performed according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines. All validated PROMs, regarding the impact of orthognathic surgery on quality of life in patients with cleft deformities, were identified and assessed according to the quality criteria proposed for measurement properties of health status questionnaires. RESULTS: An electronic search yielded 577 articles. After a full-text review of 87 articles, 4 articles met the inclusion criteria, comprising 58 PROMs. Of these 58 PROMs, 1 PROM (the CLEFT-Q) has been validated to measure the impact of orthognathic surgery on patients with a facial cleft. Evaluation of methodological quality of the included articles and assessment of the measurement properties of the CLEFT-Q show that the CLEFT-Q scores relatively good for all available measurement properties, making it suitable for immediate use. CONCLUSION: The CLEFT-Q was found to be the only valid instrument so far to measure the impact of orthognathic surgery on the quality of life in patients with cleft deformities.