Cleft-related nose deformation evaluation and measurement methods. Literature review.

[INTRODUCTION] Rhinoplasty for the cleft lip and palate patient is very challenging and surgical outcome of the nose is difficult to evaluate. Discussions of aesthetic evaluation of the nose in cleft lip and palate patients remain problematical. Many different nose aesthetic evaluation methods have been described in the literature; they differ even among articles published in a single year.

[AIM] To analyse the literature concerning aesthetic evaluation of the nose in cleft lip and palate patients and to identify the most objective method for such evaluation postoperatively.

[MATERIAL AND METHODS] The literature was reviewed using MedLine and PubMed sources dated between January 1996 and December 2014. In total, 118 full text articles in English language were selected. Exclusion criteria were: case reports, surgical reviews, literature review, and single evaluations of nasal function.

[RESULTS] Measurements were obtained from two-dimensional images in 73 articles. Noses were evaluated from 3D images in 22 and by clinical examination in 15. Other methods were evaluation from dental/facial casts, cephalometric evaluation, computer tomography and video recording. In 26 articles some combination of methods was used.

[CONCLUSIONS] The most popular evaluation method is still two-dimensional photography and measurements using anthropometric facial landmarks. Measurements from three-dimensional images seem to be the most objective method and automated facial anthropometric landmark protraction seems to hold promise for the future.