Maxillofac Plast Reconstr Surg.  2015 Aug;37(8):24. 10.1186/s40902-015-0019-z.

Prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of cleft lip with or without cleft palate; pitfalls and considerations

• Kim DW
• Chung SW
• Jung HD
• Jung YS

• KMID: 2381850
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1186/s40902-015-0019-z

Abstract

Ultrasonographic examination is widely used for screening of abnormal findings on prenatal screening. Cleft lip with or without cleft palate of the fetus can also be screened by using ultrasonography. Presence of abnormal findings of the fetal lip or palate can be detected by the imaging professionals. However, such findings may not be familiar to oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Oral and maxillofacial surgeons can use ultrasonographic imaging of fetal cleft lip with or without cleft palate to provide information regarding treatment protocols and outcomes to the parent. Therefore, surgeons should also be able to identify the abnormal details from the images, in order to setup proper treatment planning after the birth of the fetus. We report two cases of cleft lip with or without cleft palate that the official readings of prenatal ultrasonography were inconsistent with the actual facial structure identified after birth. Also, critical and practical points in fetal ultrasonographic diagnosis are to be discussed.

Keyword

Cleft lip; Cleft palate; Prenatal ultrasonography

MeSH Terms

Cleft Lip*
Cleft Palate*
Clinical Protocols
Diagnosis*
Fetus
Humans
Lip
Mass Screening
Palate
Parents
Parturition
Prenatal Diagnosis
Reading
Ultrasonography
Ultrasonography, Prenatal