Measuring Symmetry in Children With Cleft Lip. Part 2: Quantification of Nasolabial Symmetry Before and After Cleft Lip Repair.

Objective:  The first part of this study validated an automated computer-based method of identifying the three-dimensional midfacial plane in children with unrepaired cleft lip. The purpose of this second part is to develop computer-based methods to quantify symmetry and to determine the correlation of these measures to clinical expectations. Participants:  A total of 35 infants with unrepaired unilateral cleft lip and 14 infant controls. Interventions:  Six computer-based methods of quantifying symmetry were developed and applied to the three-dimensional images of infants with unilateral cleft lip before and after cleft lip repair and to those of controls. Main Outcome Measure:  Symmetry scores for cleft type, changes with surgery, and individual subjects ranked according to cleft severity were assessed. Results:  Significant differences in symmetry scores were found between cleft types and found before and after surgery. Symmetry scores for infants with unilateral cleft lip approached those of controls ...