Current surgical techniques for cleft lip-palate in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Cleft lip and palate (CL/P) are the most common congenital anomalies of the craniofacial region. AIM: to evaluate the surgical techniques used in CL/P treatment in a craniofacial deformities ward, in Minas Gerais. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this retrospective study, carried out between 2002 and 2007, we studied 109 individuals with non-syndromic CL/P submitted to treatment. The aspects analyzed (personal identification, classification of CL/P and surgical treatment performed) were obtained from patient charts, and then we built a database and ran statistical analyses through the SPSS 13.0 software. Followed by descriptive analysis of the surgical procedures depending on the type of CL/P found. RESULTS: Among the 109 patients, 65.1% were males and 34.8% females. We found that 45% of patients had cleft lip and palate, 37.6% cleft lip only and 17.4% cleft palate only. The surgical techniques employed were predominantly those from Millard and Spina for cheiloplasty, McComb for rhinoplasty and, Veau and Van Langenbeeck for palatoplasty. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to address treatment procedures for individuals with CL/P in the state of Minas Gerais. For unilateral CL/P we predominantly used the association of McComb, Veau and Millard techniques, respectively, for rhinoplasty, palatoplasty and cheiloplasty, in 76.9% of the patients.