Current Presurgical Infant Orthopedics Practices Among American Cleft Palate Association-Approved Cleft Teams in North America

Abstract

Presurgical infant orthopedic (PSIO) therapy has evolved in both its popularity and focus of treatment since its advent. Nasoalveolar molding, nasal elevators, the Latham appliance, lip taping, and passive plates are the modern treatment options offered by cleft teams. Many cleft surgeons also employ postsurgical nasal stenting (PSNS) after the primary lip repair procedure. The purpose of this study is to examine trends in current PSIO care as well as PSNS for the management of patients with cleft lip and palate. An electronic survey was distributed to cleft team coordinators listed by the American Cleft Palate Association. The survey reported on team setting, provider availability, PSIO offerings, contraindications, and use of PSNS. Descriptive statistics and analyses were performed using MS Excel and SPSS. A total of 102 survey responses were received. The majority of settings were children's specialty hospitals (66%) or university hospitals (27%). Presurgical infant orthopedics was offered by 86% of cleft teams, and the majority of those (68%) provided nasoalveolar molding. Nasal elevators and lip taping are offered at 44% and 53% of centers, respectively. Latham and passive plates are both offered at 5.5% of centers. Most centers had an orthodontist providing treatment. The majority of centers use PSNS (86%). Nasoalveolar molding is the most popular PSIO technique in North American cleft centers followed by the nasal elevator, suggesting that the nasal molding component of PSIO is of critical influence on current treatment practices.