Facial asymmetry-3D assessment of infants with cleft lip and palate

OBJECTIVES: To determine the degree of facial asymmetry in infants with unilateral cleft lip and/or palate, and quantify improvements following primary surgery, in three dimensions. DESIGN: The faces of 20 infants with unilateral clefts (10 UCL; 10 UCLP), and 20 age-matched, non-cleft controls, were captured using the C3D (TM) stereophotogrammetry system prior to primary lip/nose repair (at 3 months), at 6 months and at age 1 year. METHODS: Procrustes techniques were applied to 3D landmark configurations to its mirror image. Mean squared distances between landmarks and their antimeres were calculated and expressed as asymmetry scores for each 3D configuration. Full-face, nose and lip median scores were compared and changes with time evaluated (P < 0.01). RESULTS: There were no significant changes in asymmetry scores in the control group from 3 months to 1 year. The UCLP group was more asymmetric than the UCL group, displaying greatest improvement in nasal symmetry following primary repair. The lips continued to improve over time. The UCL group had significant nasal asymmetry, which did not appear to improve with primary surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Immediate improvement in asymmetry scores in children with UCLP is related to the production of a more symmetrical nasal form after primary surgery. In contrast, the nasal asymmetry seen in children with UCL is unchanged despite surgery. Full face asymmetry scores may mask subtle changes over time. Nasal and lip asymmetry should be considered individually

Facial characterization of infants with cleft lip and palate using a three-dimensional capture technique

Objective: To characterize the soft tissue features of infants with unilateral cleft lip (UCL) and unilateral complete cleft lip and palate (UCLP) prior to primary surgery and compare with noncleft controls. Design: Prospective controlled capture of the facial morphology of infants using a noninvasive three-dimensional stereophotogrammetry method. Participants: 23 children with presurgical cleft: 11 UCL (M = 6, F = 5); 12 UCLP (M = 9, F = 3), and 21 noncleft controls (M = 7, F = 14) were imaged at approximately 3 months of age (range 10 to 16 weeks). Main Outcome Measure: Accurate, repeatable quantification of facial soft tissues in infants with clefts prior to surgery. Results: Significant differences (p < .05) were found between the UCLP group and UCL and control groups in anatomical and soft nose width, cleft-side alar wing length, and nasal tip horizontal displacement. Both cleft groups were significantly different from controls and from each other in cleft-side nostril dimensions, alar wing angulation, columella angle, and alar base to corner of mouth dimension; alar base width; and soft tissue defect in nose and the lip and philtrum length bordering the cleft. Significant differences between clefts and controls were identified in the nostril and philtrum on the noncleft side. Conclusions: The use of children with UCL as controls for UCLP studies is inappropriate. This technique overcame the limitations of direct measurement of infant faces to aid the surgeon in the planning and subsequent re-evaluation of surgical rationale

Validation of a vision based, three dimensional facial imaging system

Objective: Although one goal in cleft lip surgery is to avoid serious scarring, residual scars are often observed after primary surgery. The goal of this preliminary report was to present the standardized application of laser technology to reduce the appearance of residual scars. Design: Ten patients with scarring after unilateral and bilateral cleft lip surgery were treated with a Dual Mode erbium yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser. This laser was recently introduced and had been used only for cosmetic applications, skin resurfacing, and correction of acne scars. Results: An improvement in the clinical appearance of the laser-treated scars was observed after the first treatment, with continued improvement after the second laser session. The clinically observed improvements were corroborated by the patients' reports concerning satisfaction with the result. Conclusions: The combined mechanisms of ablation/coagulation and shrinking of the skin caused by the laser, in addition to observed patient satisfaction and low risk associated with the procedure, suggest that this treatment approach can be effective in the correction of residual scarring in patients with cleft lip

Validation of a vision-based, three-dimensional facial imaging system

Objective: Although one goal in cleft lip surgery is to avoid serious scarring, residual scars are often observed after primary surgery. The goal of this preliminary report was to present the standardized application of laser technology to reduce the appearance of residual scars. Design: Ten patients with scarring after unilateral and bilateral cleft lip surgery were treated with a Dual Mode erbium yttrium-aluminum-garnet laser. This laser was recently introduced and had been used only for cosmetic applications, skin resurfacing, and correction of acne scars. Results: An improvement in the clinical appearance of the laser-treated scars was observed after the first treatment, with continued improvement after the second laser session. The clinically observed improvements were corroborated by the patients' reports concerning satisfaction with the result. Conclusions: The combined mechanisms of ablation/coagulation and shrinking of the skin caused by the laser, in addition to observed patient satisfaction and low risk associated with the procedure, suggest that this treatment approach can be effective in the correction of residual scarring in patients with cleft lip

Spatial expression of IKK-alpha is associated with a differential mutational landscape and survival in primary colorectal cancer

Background: To understand the relationship between key non-canonical NF-κB kinase IKK-alpha(α), tumour mutational profile and survival in primary colorectal cancer. Methods: Immunohistochemical expression of IKKα was assessed in a cohort of 1030 patients who had undergone surgery for colorectal cancer using immunohistochemistry. Mutational tumour profile was examined using a customised gene panel. Immunofluorescence was used to identify the cellular location of punctate IKKα expression. Results: Two patterns of IKKα expression were observed; firstly, in the tumour cell cytoplasm and secondly as discrete ‘punctate’ areas in a juxtanuclear position. Although cytoplasmic expression of IKKα was not associated with survival, high ‘punctate’ IKKα expression was associated with significantly reduced cancer-specific survival on multivariate analysis. High punctate expression of IKKα was associated with mutations in KRAS and PDGFRA. Dual immunofluorescence suggested punctate IKKα expression was co-located with the Golgi apparatus. Conclusions: These results suggest the spatial expression of IKKα is a potential biomarker in colorectal cancer. This is associated with a differential mutational profile highlighting possible distinct signalling roles for IKKα in the context of colorectal cancer as well as potential implications for future treatment strategies using IKKα inhibitors