Presurgical orthopedics in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate: clinical case reports

Abstract

The attention of patients with cleft lip and palate on the basis
established by McNeil, Burston, Hotz, Gnoinski among others is hereby presented using a stimulating palatal obturator with 10 patients of the Orthodontics Service at the Children’s Hospital of Mexico «Federico Gómez». Two patients didn’t return and one died before the second appointment. The benefi ts of presurgical orthopedics were observed, improving the patient’s functional and physical appearance, such as swallowing, tongue position in the oral cavity, improvement in the relationship of the maxillary segments and narrowing of the fissure. Following the protocol established by the Children’s Hospital of Mexico «Federico Gómez» based on the Zurich approach (McNeil, Hotz, Burston, Gnoinski, et al), the procedure resulted suitable for surgical preparation of palatoplasty and cheiloplasty in patients with
unilateral cleft lip palate.