Does the GOSLON yardstick predict the need for orthognathic surgery?

The ability of the GOSLON Yardstick, scored at 9 years of age, to predict the need for orthognathic surgery in a cohort of complete Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate (UCLP) patients treated in the Cleft Lip and Palate Unit, Princess Margaret Hospital for Children, Perth, Western Australia was assessed. Sixty six consecutively treated UCLP patients with dental models at 9 years of age and details on referral for orthognathic surgery were retrieved from medical and dental records. Cephalometric appraisal at 18 year old patients was also conducted. Twenty four of sixty six patients were referred for orthognathic surgery at growth completion (36%). Referral pattern stratified by GOSLON scores at 9 years of age found that four of four patients (100%), with a GOSLON score of 5 were referred for orthognathic surgery. Eleven of fourteen patients (79%) with a GOSLON 4, four of sixteen patients (25%) with a GOSLON 3 and five of thirty two patients (15%) with a GOSLON 2 were referred. No patient recorded a GOSLON 1 at age 9. Cephalometric appraisals conducted on thirty eight subjects at age 18 significantly discriminated the referral group from the non-referral group. Of the seventeen patients referred for surgery eight fulfilled the objective cephalometric criteria for orthognathic surgery, none of the patients who were not referred for orthognathic surgery fulfilled the objective criteria. The GOSLON Yardstick was found to be a good predictor of the need for orthognathic surgery at growth completion in our unit.