A CBCT Study for Anatomic Variations of Osteomeatal complex in Patients With Cleft Lip and Palate.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the anatomy and variations of osteomeatal complex (OMC) by comparing patients with nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate (CLP) and control group. DESIGN: This case-control study was retrospectively analyzed using cone-beam computed tomography data. SETTING: Istanbul University Faculty of Dentistry Department of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology. PATIENTS: The study was conducted with 100 patients (44 females, 56 males) with CLP and 100 patients in the control group, which matched gender and age (with a maximum difference of 3 years). VARIABLES: OMC variations are grouped as follows: ethmoidal, conchal, uncinate process, and septal variations. Then, we evaluated the presence of these OMC variations and compared them between the two groups. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: The McNemar's test was used to determine any significant differences between the groups for all indices at the 95% confidence level. RESULTS: The most common anatomic variation in this study was Agger nasi cell (97%) and concha bullosa (97%) in the patients with CLP, while Agger nasi cell was the most common variation (99%) in the controls. Moreover, the atelectatic uncinate process was the least observed variation in both groups (1%). The incidences of paradoxical concha (58%;42%), bifid concha (29%;11%), deviated nasal septum (92%;80%) were significantly higher in the CLP group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The statistically significant results found when comparing OMC anatomy between the two groups reveal the importance of three-dimensional evaluation before functional endoscopic sinus surgery in patients with CLP.