Pattern of cleft lip and palate deformities and associated anomalies in a selected Nigerian population

Background: Cleft Lip and / or Palate (CL/P) is one of the major human orofacial congenital malformations seen in live births. Port Harcourt is a city in the South- South region of Nigeria for which there is a dearth of data on these deformities. The aim of this paper is to assess the pattern of CL/P deformities and associated anomalies in an understudied Nigerian population. Methodology: This is an observational study of the pattern, dental and occlusal features, skeletal deformities, and hearing as well as speech problems associated with CL/P. The subjects were recruited from among the beneficiaries of a corrective surgical outreach at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital in April 2010. Data collection was by oral interview and clinical examination. The information elicited was recorded in a structured questionnaire prior to the corrective surgery. Descriptive analysis of data was performed using SPSS version 17. Results: A total number of 36 subjects were studied, including 19 males and 17 females. Age range was 0.21-28 years, with a mean of 8.8 (8.2) years. Eight (22.6%) subjects were below age one year. Twenty five percent had Cleft Lip (CL) 33.3% had Cleft Palate (CP), and 41.7% had Cleft lip and palate. Cleft palate was more common in females. Dental/occlusal anomalies found in subjects were notably, anomalies of number structure and position. Speech and hearing defects were observed in 61.1% and 19.4% of the subjects respectively. Conclusion: The relative prevalence of different cleft patterns complies with previous reports in Nigeria. Also, different reported types of dental and occlusal anomalies were noted, tooth rotations being the commonest. Late presentation for surgical correction was observed in this population. Key words: Cleft lip and palate, dental and occlusal anomalies, congenital malformations