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Continuous Multidisciplinary Care for Patients With Orofacial Clefts—Should the Follow-up Interval Depend on the Cleft Entity?

Objective: The multidisciplinary follow-up of patients with cleft lip with or without palate (CL/P) is organized differently in specialized
centers worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the different treatment needs of patients with different manifestations
of CL/P and to potentially adapt the frequency and timing of checkup examinations accordingly.
Design:We retrospectively analyzed the data of all patients attending the CL/P consultation hour at a tertiary care center between
June 2005 and August 2020 (n=1126). We defined 3 groups of cleft entities: (1) isolated clefts of lip or lip and alveolus (CL/A),
(2) isolated clefts of the hard and/or soft palate, and (3) complete clefts of lip, alveolus and palate (CLP). Timing and type of therapy
recommendations given by the specialists of different disciplines were analyzed for statistical differences.
Results: Patients with CLP made up the largest group (n=537), followed by patients with cleft of the soft palate (n=371) and CL
±A (n=218). There were significant differences between the groups with regard to type and frequency of treatment recommendations.
A therapy was recommended in a high proportion of examinations in all groups at all ages.
Conclusion: Although there are differences between cleft entities, the treatment need of patients with orofacial clefts is generally
high during the growth period. Patients with CL/A showed a similarly high treatment demand and should be monitored closely.
A close follow-up for patients with diagnosis of CL/P is crucial and measures should be taken to increase participation in followup
appointments.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:87670
Date26 October 2023
CreatorsSander, Anna K., Grau, Elisabeth, Kloss-Brandstätter, Anita, Zimmerer, Rüdiger, Neuhaus, Michael, Bartella, Alexander K., Lethaus, Bernd
PublisherSage Publishing
Source SetsHochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
Typeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion, doc-type:article, info:eu-repo/semantics/article, doc-type:Text
Rightsinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Relation10.1177/10556656211035253

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