Hypertelorism and Orofacial Clefting Revisited: An Anthropometric Investigation.

ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:Since the 1960s, multiple studies have reported a tendency toward hypertelorism in individuals with nonsyndromic orofacial clefts (OFCs). However, the association between specific cleft types and increased interorbital distance has been inconsistent. Using three-dimensional (3D) surface imaging, we tested whether different forms of clefting showed evidence of increased interorbital distance. METHODS:Intercanthal and outercanthal distances and intercanthal indices were calculated from 3D facial surface images of 287 individuals with repaired OFCs. Raw measurements were converted to sex and age-normalized Z-scores. Mean Z-scores for individuals with cleft lip (CL), cleft lip and palate (CLP), and cleft palate (CP) were compared with reference normative values (controls) and one another directly using t tests and analysis of variance. RESULTS:The CLP group showed a significant increase in intercanthal width (P = .001) and intercanthal index (P < .001) compared with reference norms. The CP group showed a significant decrease (P < .001) in outercanthal width. The CL group showed no difference from reference norms. The proportion of clinically hyperteloric individuals was generally low but highest in the CLP group (7.4%). Cleft severity had little effect on interorbital spacing. CONCLUSIONS:Individuals with CLP exhibited on average a tendency toward mild hypertelorism, driven primarily by an increase in intercanthal distance. This tendency was not seen in CL or CP.

SUBMITTER: Weinberg SM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5603419 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature