Does unilateral cleft lip and palate affect the maxillary sinus volume?

Abstract

Objective: The purposes of this study were to evaluate and compare the maxillary sinus volume (MSV) of patients with a unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) between the cleft side and noncleft side and between adolescent patients with UCLP and a control (noncleft) group using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods: CBCT images of 44 UCLP patients (29 males and 15 females, with a mean [SD] age of 13.5 [5.0] years) and 44 (22 males and 22 females, with a mean [SD] age 14.9 [4.2] years) age- and sex-matched controls were evaluated in this study. Each maxillary sinus was assessed 3-dimensionally, segmented, and its volume was calculated. Results: There were no statistically significant differences between the age and gender distributions of the groups. There was a statistically significant difference in the MSVs of the cleft (10996.78+3522.89 mm3) versus the noncleft side (10382.3+3416.2 mm3; P < .05)] but no significant difference between the MSVs of the right and left sides (P > .05). In the intergroup comparison, the mean MSVs of the UCLP patients (10701.52+3369.33 mm3) were significantly smaller than those of the control group (16054.08 + 5293.96 mm3; P < .001). Conclusions: The MSVs of the UCLP patients showed a statistically significant decrease compared to those of the controls (P < .001). There was also a significant difference in the MSVs of the cleft and noncleft sides of the UCLP patients (P < .05).