Judgment of Nasolabial Esthetics in Cleft Lip and Palate Is Not Influenced by Overall Facial Attractiveness.
Written by admin on October 18, 2017
Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2016 May;53(3):e45-52. doi: 10.1597/14-019. Epub 2015
May 1.
Kocher K, Kowalski P, Kolokitha OE, Katsaros C, Fudalej PS.
Comment in
Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2016 Nov;53(6):750-751.
Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 2017 Sep;54(5):619-620.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether judgment of nasolabial esthetics in cleft lip
and palate (CLP) is influenced by overall facial attractiveness.
DESIGN: Experimental study.
SETTING: University of Bern, Switzerland.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Seventy-two fused images (36 of boys, 36 of girls) were
constructed. Each image comprised (1) the nasolabial region of a treated child
with complete unilateral CLP (UCLP) and (2) the external facial features, i.e.,
the face with masked nasolabial region, of a noncleft child. Photographs of the
nasolabial region of six boys and six girls with UCLP representing a wide range
of esthetic outcomes, i.e., from very good to very poor appearance, were
randomly chosen from a sample of 60 consecutively treated patients in whom
nasolabial esthetics had been rated in a previous study. Photographs of external
facial features of six boys and six girls without UCLP with various esthetics
were randomly selected from patients’ files. Eight lay raters evaluated the
fused images using a 100-mm visual analogue scale. Method reliability was
assessed by reevaluation of fused images after >1 month. A regression model was
used to analyze which elements of facial esthetics influenced the perception of
nasolabial appearance.
RESULTS: Method reliability was good. A regression analysis demonstrated that
only the appearance of the nasolabial area affected the esthetic scores of fused
images (coefficient = -11.44; P < .001; R(2) = 0.464). The appearance of the
external facial features did not influence perceptions of fused images.
CONCLUSION: Cropping facial images for assessment of nasolabial appearance in
CLP seems unnecessary. Instead, esthetic evaluation can be performed on images
of full faces.
DOI: 10.1597/14-019
PMID: 25932752 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
