“A Retrospective Evaluation of the Impact of Prenatal Diagnosis of Facial Clefts. Does Prenatal Diagnosis Matter?”

Abstract

Background

With the advent of improved prenatal detection, some patients with facial clefting are diagnosed prenatally while others are diagnosed postnatally. There is limited data regarding the utility of prenatal diagnosis and how this affects care of patients with facial clefts.

Methods and Materials

A retrospective chart review was performed. Children with incomplete demographic data and those with syndromic conditions were excluded. The data were analyzed via Fisher's exact tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests (p < 0.05).

Results

106 patients met inclusion criteria. Facial clefting was diagnosed prenatally at different frequencies depending on type of facial cleft- patients with cleft palate alone were less likely to be identified prenatally (p < 0.0001). Patients diagnosed prenatally were seen by craniofacial specialists at an earlier age compared to those diagnosed after birth (0.27 months vs 0.7 months, p < 0.001). Similarly, those with prenatal diagnosis underwent surgery at a younger age compared to those who were diagnosed postnatally (median: 3.6 months vs 10.67 months, p < 0.001) and experienced shorter lag time (median: 3.4 months vs 8.4 months, p = 0.027) from consultation to surgery. Importantly, prenatal diagnosis resulted in pre-surgical therapy more often than in children diagnosed postnatally (86% vs 22.2%, p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Our data suggests that patients with prenatal diagnosis of facial clefts were more likely to undergo pre-surgical therapy, presented to a craniofacial specialist at an earlier age, underwent surgery at an earlier age, and experienced less lag time between initial visit and surgery. More study is warranted to improve protocols for prenatal diagnoses to improve surgical outcomes.