Methods: 51 ten year old surgically managed UCLP patients were compared with a control group of 68 ten year old children with no facial clefts. The face was imaged at rest and with maximum smile using a 3-D imaging system (Di3D). The 3-D data was manipulated to assess facial dysmorphology using statistical shape analyses methods, including Generalised Procrustes Analysis, Principal Components Analysis and Asymmetry Scoring.
Results: There was clear variation in facial shape between the UCLP group and the controls. UCLP cases were more asymmetric than controls. Global asymmetry scores for the face as a whole were higher as well as for specific areas such as the nose and lip. Decomposition of the asymmetry scores showed that the upper lip was more asymmetric than the nose; and even in the control group the lip was responsible for more variation in asymmetry than other parts of the face. In the UCLP group assessment of the nasal complex revealed that the nasal rim was slightly more asymmetric than the nasal base. A degree of facial asymmetry was also present in the control group.
Conclusion: 3D imaging provides objective measurements of facial asymmetry and identifies areas of residual abnormality in UCLP cases. The project was funded by the Chief Scientist Office (CSO Grant Reference CZH/4/264). Ethical Approval REC No. 05/S0709/81.