Demographic and clinical profile of craniofacial clefts at comprehensive rehabilitation service in Uganda

ABSTRACT

Background: The true incidence of Craniofacial cleft (CFC) is unknown because of their scarcity and because of the difficulty in recognizing sometimes subtle physical findings in mild malformations. Craniofacial anomalies in the African population are reported infrequently. Aim: To contribute to the general literature on rare CFC in Uganda and Africa. Methods: we conducted a retrospective search of patient data over the period 2005 to May 2017 in the unit of plastic surgery of CoRSU (Comprehensive Rehabilitation Service in Uganda) hospital, a tertiary hospital in Uganda. Patient with a diagnosis of CFC were picked out. Sixty-six patient's files with clinical diagnosis of CFC including their clinical photographs were found. Frequency data was generated and a frequency distribution table with the observed data was constructed. Results: Sex distribution showed no significant difference between male and female (11,2);the age on admission ranged from 1 day to 83 years; according to the laterality of the cleft, unilateral CFC (left or right side) are more common than midline clefts (Tessier 0; 14; 0,14;30); however, according to the clinical type, Tessier cleft (TC) 0 is the most common TC in our series and is associated with holoprosencephaly. Fifty percent of CFC in our series are syndromic. TC 7 are common in male and have a bilateral predilection. Conclusion: CFC are a rare set of malformations for which there is a paucity of literature. There is a need to conduct a study with a larger series including CT-Scan in order to analyze more accurate clinical diagnosis