Nasolabial Appearance Evaluation by Surgeons and Inexperienced Health Workers after Primary Unilateral Cleft Lip Repair Using the Cronin Technique

One of the most critical measures of successful unilateral cleft lip repair is the evaluation of nasolabial appearance. This study aimed to assess nasolabial appearance following lip repair using the Cronin technique in patients with complete unilateral cleft lip, employing the Unilateral Cleft Lip Surgical Outcomes Evaluation (UCL SOE) scale.

Nine evaluators from different professional backgrounds, including three oral and maxillofacial surgeons, three oral and maxillofacial surgery residents, and three dental nurses, conducted the assessments. Twenty-four pairs of photographs of patients with unilateral cleft lip who underwent lip repair using the Cronin technique were evaluated. Intra- and inter-evaluator reliability tests were performed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

The intraclass correlation coefficients for each component and for the total score showed that the oral and maxillofacial surgeons demonstrated very high reliability, scoring 1.00 on nearly all components, which indicates an almost perfect correlation.

The intra-evaluator and inter-evaluator ICC values demonstrated consistent and reliable results for evaluating the esthetic outcomes of unilateral cleft lip repair using the Cronin technique. However, differences were observed in the assessments among the different evaluator groups.

The evaluation of nasolabial appearance using the UCL SOE scale demonstrated good reliability and consistency across evaluators, regardless of professional background. Furthermore, the Cronin technique used in this study can be recommended for unilateral cleft lip repair.