A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY OF BILATERAL ALVEOLAR BONE GRAFTING

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the treatment results of bilateral alveolar bone grafting (BABG) in patients with bilateral complete clefts of lip and palate. METHODS: A retrospective study was performed in 66 bilateral complete cleft lip and palate patients who received the procedure of BABG, among them 15 were primary BABG and 51 were secondary BABG. The patients were further divided into three groups according to age and eruption stage of the canine at the time of surgery. The result of BABG was evaluated on the radiographs. RESULTS: (1) The overall success rate of BABG was 75.0%, with 83.3% and 72.5% for primary and secondary BABG respectively; (2) The marginal bone level was found to be significantly higher in the youngest age group than in the other groups both for primary and secondary BABG; (3) For both primary and secondary BABG, Group C (patients' age more than 16 years) had the least optimal success rate, with 66.7% and 65.1% respectively. CONCLUSION: Simultaneous primary palate repair and BABG is safe and feasible procedure for treating unoperated bilateral complete cleft lip and cleft palate patients. For both primary and secondary BABG, significantly better results can be achieved if the operation is performed before eruption of the canine.