An epidemiologic study of lip and palate clefts from a Brazilian reference hospital

Objective: To investigate the distribution of several types of clefts among adolescents and adults receiving treatment at the Center for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies, Unifenas, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Methods and Materials: A total 154 untreated patients of low socioeconomic means with cleft lips and/or palates, without additional malformations, who came to the Center for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies for treatment were analyzed, and clinical and socioeconomic variables were detailed. Results: A predominance of complete cleft lip and palate, either unilateral or bilateral, was observed (52.60%), followed by isolated cleft lip (33.12%) and isolated cleft palate (14.28%). A discrete relationship between cleft palate and the female gender was noticed, and males were more affected by other types of clefts. Conclusions: Non-Caucasian males with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate constituted the main profile of affected individuals. Keywords: cleft lip and palate, epidemiology, population study