Does Presurgical Taping Change Nose and Lip Esthetics in Infants with Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate After Surgical Lip Repair? A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background: The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to assess the effectiveness of taping alone in changing nose and lip aesthetics in infants with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate before and after surgical lip repair. Methods: The study design was a prospective, balanced, randomized, parallel-group, single-blinded, controlled trial. All the steps were carried out in the Department of Orthodontics of Cairo University in Egypt. Thirty-one infants with nonsyndromic unilateral complete cleft lip and palate were randomly assigned to either no treatment (control) or taping groups. In the taping group, all infants received horizontal tape between the two labial segments, aiming to decrease the cleft gap. No other interventions were performed in this group. Standardized photographs and videos were taken of the infants in both groups at the beginning of the treatment (T1), directly before surgical lip repair (T2), and 2 weeks after surgical lip repair (T3). Photographs and shots from videos were calibrated and used for outcome assessment. Blinded assessors carried out all the measurements digitally on the standardized photographs at T1, T2, and T3 using computer software. Results: Significant changes in all the measurements were recorded in the taping group at T2 before surgical lip repair in comparison with the control group. At T3, no differences were found between the two groups. Conclusions: Taping is a successful intervention in changing nose and lip aesthetics before surgical lip repair. After surgical lip repair, both groups had matching aesthetics. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, I.

Management in Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery : A Systematic Review

“…The findings of this study offer suggested norms for the young UCLP prior to the initiation of any orthodontic treatment and have the potential to be helpful to the clinician in the process of future treatment planning. Abd El-Ghafour, 2022 12…”

“…Following lip restoration surgery, both groups were able to attain aesthetically pleasing results that were on par with one another. 12 Palate healing should take 3-6 months. Some studies recommend cleft correction at 12-18 months, while others claim 1 year may improve speech.…”

The nasoalveolar molding technique versus DynaCleft nasal elevator application in infants with unilateral cleft lip and palate

“…The sample size was calculated based on a previous study [ 17 ] that assessed cleft lip height following PSIO treatment. The independent t -test was used, assuming a 5% level of statistical significance, 80% power, and an effect size of 1.95.…”

Advances in Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery

“…Lip taping, however, is by far the simplest, least labor-intensive, and most cost-effective method of presurgical infant orthopedics and is often used when patients are not candidates for other forms of PSIO. Recently, there have been increasing reports regarding the use and efficacy in cleft care [3][4][5]. Initial reports date back to 1905, by G. V. I.…”

“…Brown [6], with a more contemporary study by Dr. Robert Pool in 1994 reporting on their experience of 22 patients (17 unilateral and 5 bilateral) over 16 years achieving a 53% reduction in the size of the gap of the alveolar segments (12.4 mm to 5.8 mm) prior to definitive cheiloplasty [7]. More recently, there have been two randomized clinical trials (RCTs) noting the efficacy of presurgical lip taping in unilateral cleft lip and palate on positively changing the maxillary arch dimensions [3] and nasolabial aesthetics [5]. Comparing two of the most commonly used PSIO in NAM, lip taping has achieved similar results with regard to reductions in alveolar gap and nasolabial symmetry in two prospective studies [8,9].…”