Nasoalveolar Molding Therapy for the Treatment of Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate Improves Nasal Symmetry and Maxillary Alveolar Dimensions.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to assess the esthetic and morphologic outcomes before surgery using nasoalveolar molding (NAM) therapy in children with unilateral cleft lip and palate. DESIGN: A prospective analysis was performed. SETTING: The study was carried out in the Congenital Malformations Craniofacial and Cleft Lip and Palate Unit, Hospital Virgen de las Nieves, Andalusian Health Service, Granada (Spain). PATIENTS: Twenty consecutively enrolled infants ranging in age from 7 to 30 days with nonsyndromic unilateral cleft lip and palate treated from 2008 to 2012. INTERVENTIONS: All patients were treated with NAM appliances to align the alveolar segments and reduce severity of the nasal deformity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The extraoral nasal measurements were performed on casts and nasal photographs. The measurements consisted of bialar width (BAW), columellar deviation (CD), cleft nostril height (CNH), cleft nostril width (CNW), non-CNH, non-CNW, and the deviation of the columella to the horizontal line represented by bilateral pupil line (BIA). The authors have made the measurements following Barilla method. Also 2 intraoral measurements were taken. RESULTS: Following NAM the extraoral records showed a statistically significant decrease in CD (P < 0.0001), CNW (P < 0.0001), and BAW (P < 0.001). Furthermore, statistically significant increases in CNH (P < 0.05) and BIA (P < 0.0001) were observed.Following Barilla measurements, the authors have found a high percentage of symmetry in all the nasal measurements after the NAM therapy.Intraoral results showed a statistically significant decrease in the gap between the greater and lesser alveolar segments and a statistically significant increase in maxillary arch width. CONCLUSIONS: Nasoalveolar molding improves nasal symmetry and achieves an improvement of all maxillary alveolar dimensions, increasing alveolar rim width, reducing the size of alveolar cleft gap, and improving shape of the maxillary dental arch. As a consequence of reducing the alveolar and nasal deformities before surgery, it is expected that the primary repair will be easier for the surgeon and more successful.

Aplicación de la terapia de presión negativa en heridas complejas en pediatría / Application of therapy in negative pressure complex wounds in pediatrics

La terapia de presión negativa (TPN) para el tratamiento de heridas de diversa gravedad y etiología ha sido y sigue siendo ampliamente utilizada en el adulto, a diferencia de la escasa experiencia publicada en niños. Las ventajas que se derivan de este tratamiento son, en parte, la disminución del tiempo de tratamiento y del gasto sanitario, que evita largos y costosos ingresos hospitalarios, y el acortamiento del tiempo de interrupción de los procesos familiares, con lo que se favorece la pronta incorporación a las actividades de la vida diaria. En este artículo, presentamos tres casos clínicos de lesiones complejas en un lactante, escolar y adolescente respectivamente tratados con TPN en el Servicio de Cirugía Pediátrica del Hospital Universitario Virgen de las Nieves de Granada. El resultado fue excelente, con una buena adherencia al tratamiento. Se produjo un cierre directo en dos de los casos con necesidad de cierre quirúrgico del tercero previa preparación del lecho, así como disminución significativa del tamaño de la lesión tras el tratamiento con el TPN. Además, otra ventaja que presentó este tipo de terapia fue la buena gestión del dolor durante los recambios, que permitió realizarlos de manera ambulatoria y sin necesidad de anestesia general. Según nuestra experiencia proponemos la TPN como tratamiento alternativo al quirúrgico convencional para este tipo de lesiones complejas en el niño, que ofrece similares resultados y ventajas que en el adulto

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has been widely used in the adult patient, contrary to what happens in children, with just a few long series papers. NPWT avoids long and expensive hospital admissions, reducing the hospital costs; it also decreases the family dynamics and allows for an early return to everyday activities. In this article, we present three clinical cases consisting of a toddler, a child and a teenager with complex wounds treated with NPWT in the pediatric surgery department of the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital in Granada. The results were excellent, with a good adherence to treatment in all cases, achieving a complete closure in two cases; the third case needed a deferred surgical closure after surgical site preparation, and showed a decrease of the wound size after the NPWT. Moreover, successful pain management was achieved during the wound cleansing, which was done under an ambulatory regime. No general anesthesia was needed. From our experience, we propose the NPWT as an alternative therapy to the classic surgical approach for this type of complex lesions in children, which offers the same advantages and results than in adults

[Application of therapy in negative pressure complex wounds in pediatrics]. / Aplicación de la terapia de presión negativa en heridas complejas en pediatría.

Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has been widely used in the adult patient, contrary to what happens in children, with just a few long series papers. NPWT avoids long and expensive hospital admissions, reducing the hospital costs; it also decreases the family dynamics and allows for an early return to everyday activities. In this article, we present three clinical cases consisting of a toddler, a child and a teenager with complex wounds treated with NPWT in the pediatric surgery department of the Virgen de las Nieves University Hospital in Granada. The results were excellent, with a good adherence to treatment in all cases, achieving a complete closure in two cases; the third case needed a deferred surgical closure after surgical site preparation, and showed a decrease of the wound size after the NPWT. Moreover, successful pain management was achieved during the wound cleansing, which was done under an ambulatory regime. No general anesthesia was needed. From our experience, we propose the NPWT as an alternative therapy to the classic surgical approach for this type of complex lesions in children, which offers the same advantages and results than in adults.

Usefulness of a bioengineered oral mucosa model for preventing palate bone alterations in rabbits with a mucoperiostial defect.

The use of mucoperiostial flaps during cleft palate surgery is associated with altered palatal bone growth and development. We analyzed the potential usefulness of a bioengineered oral mucosa in an in vivo model of cleft palate. First, a 4 mm palate defect was created in one side of the palate oral mucosa of 3 week-old New Zealand rabbits, and a complete autologous bioengineered oral mucosa (BOM) or acellular fibrin-agarose scaffold (AS) was implanted. No material was implanted in the negative controls (NC), and positive controls were not subjected to palatal defect (PC). Animals were allowed to grow for 6 months and the results were analyzed morphologically (palate mucosa and bone size) and histologically. Results show that palatal mucosa and bone growth and development were significantly altered in NC and AS animals, whereas BOM animals had similar results to PC and the bioengineered oral mucosa was properly integrated in the host palate. The amount and compaction of collagen fibers was similar between BOM and PC, and both groups of animals had comparable contents of proteoglycans and glycoproteins at the palate bone. No differences were found for decorin, osteocalcin and BMP2. The use of bioengineered oral mucosa substitutes is able to improve palate growth and maturation by preventing the alterations found in animals with denuded palate bone. These results support the potential clinical usefulness of BOM substitutes for the treatment of patients with cleft palate and other conditions in which palate mucosa grafts are necessary with consequent bone denudation.