Bilateral cleft lip and palate: improved maxillary and dental development.

Background: Maxillary growth deficiency is still a problem in children with repaired cleft lip-cleft palate, and little progress has been made on research for its prevention. An increase in the early diagnosis of maxillary growth deficiency prompted this study to obtain an early indication of the efficacy of a new protocol for better dental and maxillary development.

Methods: A new method for repair of the hard palate in infants with bilateral cleft lip-cleft palate that made innovative use of mucosa of the nasal septum and involved less extensive surgery was coupled with the repair of the lip at 18 months instead of at 8 months.