Comparison of impact of three different methods of surgical palatal repair on maxillary growth in unilateral cleft lip and palate patients

Aim: This study aimed to compare the effects of three different surgical palatal repair techniques on maxillary growth in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP). Materials and Methods: A total of 45 UCLP patients were divided into three groups, with each group receiving a different type of palatoplasty: 15 patients underwent modified Furlow palatoplasty, 15 received Sommerlad palatoplasty, and 15 underwent V-Y pushback surgery. A control group of 30 skeletal class I patients was selected. Lateral cephalograms were used for analysis. One-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were applied for multiple comparisons, while Tukey and Dunn tests were employed for pairwise comparisons. Results: The V-Y pushback group showed significantly lower S-N-A (P<0.05) and S-N-Ans (P<0.05) values, indicating reduced maxillary prominence and sagittal positioning compared to the control group. Although the modified Furlow group demonstrated higher S-N-A values, the differences were not statistically significant. Vertical dimension differences were generally insignificant across groups, except for the lower facial height-to-total facial height ratio. Significant variations were observed in soft tissue measurements. In contrast to lower dental variables, upper dental variables were significantly different among the compared groups. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the choice of surgical method can have significant impacts on craniofacial parameters, with the V-Y Pushback technique potentially being associated with a more retrognathic and hypoplastic maxilla. However, further research is needed to fully clarify the relative merits of the different approaches and identify the optimal treatment strategies for this complex condition.