Comparison of the sizes of adenoidal tissues and upper airways of subjects with and without cleft lip and palate.

The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare 2-dimensionally the sizes of the adenoidal tissues and the upper airways in juvenile and adolescent males with and without cleft lip and palate (CLP). Two paired groups of age-matched boys were used: (1) 90 juveniles with CLP (CLP/j) and without CLP (control/j) and (2) 40 adolescents with CLP (CLP/a) and without CLP (control/a). Measurements of adenoidal tissues and upper airways were determined by using lateral cephalograms. The adenoidal tissue was significantly larger in the CLP/j group than in the control/j group, but there was no significant difference between the CLP/a and control/a groups. The adenoidal tissue was significantly smaller in the CLP/a group than in the CLP/j group. The upper airway in the CLP/j group was significantly smaller than that in the control/j group, and that in the CLP/a group was also significantly smaller than that in the control/a group. Moreover, the upper airway in the CLP/a group was significantly larger than that in the CLP/j group, and that in the control/a group was significantly larger than that in the control/j group. However, the upper airway in the CLP/a group was significantly smaller than that in the control/a group. These results suggest that the larger adenoidal tissues in the CLP/j group, compared with those in the control/j group, decreased to a similar size with aging. However, the more restricted upper airway in the CLP/j group, compared with that in the control/j group, appeared to persist until adolescence.