Objective: To compare the short- and long-term craniofacial growth of patients operated with the Milan protocol to those operated with the Oslo protocol.
Design: The Milan sample included 88 patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) at 5 years, 26 at 10 years, and 23 at the end of growth. The Oslo samples included 48 UCLP patients at 5 years, 29 at 10, and 23 at growth completion. Lateral cephalograms were used for comparison. An unpaired t test was run for the 5- and 10-year-old samples. The samples long term were matched for age and sex, and a paired t test was run.
Results: There was no significant cephalometric difference in the maxillary prominence at 5 years, a mild but significant difference at 10 years, and again no difference at the end of growth. Nevertheless, at an older age, the need for orthognathic surgery was larger in the Milan sample (26%) than in the Oslo sample (13%).
Conclusion: Although no statistically significant differences in the cephalometric measurements were found long term, the need for orthognathic surgery was clinically judged to be larger in the Milan sample. On the other hand, although the Milan protocol seemed to require more final jaw surgery, only the cases that needed an additional orthognathic procedure in the Milan group will undertake a third surgical step, while the Oslo protocol included three surgical steps for all the patients.