Relationship between Lower-Lip Fistulae and Cleft Lip and/or Palate in Van der Woude Syndrome

Abstract

Objective This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between fistulae of the lower lip and cleft lip and/or palate in patients with Van der Woude syndrome. Methods The medical records of 11,000 patients with cleft lip and/or palate registered at the Cleft Lip-Palate Research and Rehabilitation Hospital, University of São Paulo, Bauru were reviewed. Of these patients, 133 (1.2%) presented with Van der Woude syndrome. Results Of the 133 patients, 88 (66.2%) exhibited full clefts, 22 (16.5%) only cleft lip, and 23 (17.3%) only cleft palate. The lower-lip fistulae observed in these 133 patients were bilateral symmetric in 66 (49.7%), bilateral asymmetric in 42 (31.6%), microform In 19 (14.3%), median in 5 (3.8%), and unilateral in 1 (0.7%). Conclusion This population sample appears to exhibit the previously published tendency for bilateral, unilateral, or mixed-type congenital fistulae to be associated with cleft lip with or without cleft palate, while so-called microforms or conic elevations are almost exclusively associated with cleft palate.