Nasolabial appearance in unilateral cleft lip, alveolus and palate: a comparison with Eurocleft.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate nasolabial appearance of patients with UCLAP treated in Nijmegen and to compare them with those from six other individual centers from the Eurocleft study. Relationships between nasolabial aesthetics, dental arch relationships and cleft width at birth were also investigated. PATIENTS: Children of Caucasian origin with complete UCLAP (n=42 consecutive cases) from the Nijmegen Cleft Palate Unit, The Netherlands. METHODS: Nasolabial appearance was assessed by applying an aesthetic index and subsequently compared with the six-centre Eurocleft study. Cleft width at birth was measured on maxillary plaster casts. RESULTS: The 90% central range for the overall aesthetic rating of the 42 Nijmegen patients is 2.0-3.7 on a scale from 1 to 5 (1=very good nasolabial appearance, 5=very poor nasolabial appearance). With regard to the overall aesthetic rating, Nijmegen showed similar treatment outcomes with Eurocleft centres A, D, E and F. Nijmegen scored significantly better than Eurocleft centre C and significantly worse than Eurocleft centre B (p