A novel method for evaluating postsurgical results of unilateral cleft lip and palate with the use of Hausdorff distance: presurgical orthopedic treatment improves nasal symmetry after primary cheiloplasty

Objective. To evaluate surgery results, we established a novel method to digitize nasal morphology with the use of Hausdorff distance and analyzed nose morphology after cheiloplasty. Study Design. We evaluated the naris after primary cheiloplasty of 30 unilateral cleft lip and palate patients. Similarity between left and right sides was assessed by visual evaluation, area ratio, perimeter ratio, aspect a/u ratio, and Hausdorff distance. The postoperative naris morphology was also compared between 15 patients treated with a Hotz plate before surgery and 15 not treated. Results. Significant correlation with visual evaluation was found for Hausdorff distance. For the groups with and without Hotz plate treatment, the visual evaluation was higher and Hausdorff distance significantly lower in the treated group. Conclusions. The morphologic measurement obtained using the Hausdorff distance was the closest to visual evaluation, and assessment using Hausdorff distance suggested that using a Hotz plate helps retain the symmetry of the nares after cheiloplasty. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol 2012;114:704-711)