Fixed presurgical orthopaedics for bilateral cleft lip and palate

Abstract

Background: Presurgical orthopaedics has been employed since the 1950s as an adjunctive neonatal therapy for the correction of cleft lip and palate. It is accepted that presurgical orthopaedic plates facilitate lip repair and balanced orofacial growth. Aims: The aims of this retrospective study of newborns with bilateral cleft lip and palate were two-fold: to describe the use of a fixed appliance to reposition the displaced fragments, and to determine if the magnitude of the palatal changes was age-related.