Cleft Lip and/or Palate and Auricular Malformations.

OBJECTIVE

To study the relationship between cleft lip and/or palate and auricular malformations in Finnish patients with cleft.

DESIGN

Retrospective analysis of patients with an external ear malformation and either a cleft lip with or without a cleft palate (CL±P) or an isolated cleft palate (CP).

SETTING

Tertiary referral clinic.

PATIENTS: Review of hospital records of 100 patients from the register of 8200 patients with cleft in the Cleft and Craniofacial Centre at the Helsinki University Central Hospital.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportions of variable auricular malformations among CL±P and CP patients.

RESULTS

Microtia is the most common auricular malformation among patients with cleft and is almost equally prevalent with both CL±P and CP. The prevalence of microtia increases as the severity of CL±P increases. The combination of microtia and CL±P or CP is frequently found with both oculo-auriculo-vertebral spectrum and Treacher Collins syndrome.

CONCLUSIONS

Microtia seems to be the most common auricular malformation among patients with cleft. The prevalence of microtia seems to increase as the severity of CL±P increases, whereas in isolated CP microtia seems to occur independently.