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The objective of this study is to investigate the nutritional status of patients with cleft lip and/or palate when compared to non-cleft lip or palate patients. A retrospective analysis was carried out of all patients aged less than 1 year who were operated on in the Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services in Uganda hospital since opening in April 2009 to November 2010. The data was divided into three groups: cleft lip patients; cleft lip and palate patients and non-cleft patients. The WHO anthropometric calculator was used to calculate weight-for-age Z scores on each patient for the initial outpatient appointment and the operation. The demographic data and Z scores were compared using independent T tests. Three hundred and twenty-one patients were identified, 131 patients had cleft lip alone, 112 patients had cleft lip and palate and 78 patients had no cleft. The cleft lip and palate group had significantly lower Z scores for both the outpatient appointment and operation (i.e. were more malnourished) than either the cleft lip group or the non-cleft group. Malnutrition is a well-documented problem associated with cleft lip and palate. Our research confirms this malnutrition but also highlights the severity of the malnutrition. The patients with cleft lip and palate are unable to feed adequately and therefore need intervention. We operate on these patients once they reach a target weight of 3 kg and repair both lip and palate in one operation to enable patients to feed and improve their nutritional status.

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ObjectiveTo determine frequency of palatal fistula following primary cleft palate repair and the associated factors as a measure of cleft palate repair outcome and its challenges at a cleft centre in Uganda.ResultsBetween May and December 2016, 54 children with cleft palate were followed up at Comprehensive Rehabilitation services of Uganda (CoRSU) hospital, from time of primary cleft palate repair until at least 3 months postoperative to determine whether they developed palatal fistula or not. Frequency of palatal fistula was 35%. Factors associated with increased fistula formation were cleft width wider than 12 mm (p = 0.006), palatal index greater than 0.4 (p = 0.046), presence of malnutrition at initial outpatient assessment (p = 0.0057) and at time of surgery (p = 0.008), two-stage palate repair (p = 0.005) and postoperative infection (p = 0.003). Severe clefting (palatal index greater than 0.4) was seen in 74% of patients and malnutrition (Low weight for age) seen in 48% of patients. Palatal fistula rates at our institution were high compared to reports in literature. The high proportions of severe clefting and malnutrition observed in our population that was also poor and unable to afford feeding supplements increased likelihood of fistula formation and posed challenges to achieving low fistula rates in our setting.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3459-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The incidence of clefts in this study was 0.73 in 1000. With an estimated 1100 babies born with a cleft per year, this would result in the need for 1800 cleft repairs for babies in Uganda (695 babies needing two repairs each). These data will be helpful to advocate for and plan the necessary resources to effectively treat this condition.