Pattern of cleft lip and palate in Benin City, Nigeria

Objective: To study the pattern of cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) in Benin City, Nigeria and to compare the findings with reports from other parts of the world. The results of this study may be used to improve the welfare of affected patients. Design: A descriptive study. Setting: The University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. Subjects: 103 ethnic Nigerian patients with cleft lip and/or palate. Main Outcome Measures: Consecutive ethnic Nigerian patients presenting with CL/P were studied. Patients’ data collected included age, sex, ethnic group, type of CL/P and the laterality pattern. Descriptive statistics were generated for all the variables recorded. Results: There were 49.5% females and 50.5 % males; 95.1% were children and 4.9% were adults. The ethnic groups most often affected were Urhobo 29.1%, Bini 27.1% and Ibo 17.4%. The combined cleft lip and palate 60.2% was the commonest type of cleft. There were 28.2% patients with cleft lip only. More (7.8%) females were affected by the isolated cleft palate deformity. Twenty five patients had exceeded the time of repair. Their reasons were ignorance (36%) and financial constraints (64%) Conclusion: The data from this study is consistent with studies from other parts of the world. However, a high proportion of patients did not have access to early treatment due to ignorance and financial constraints. Public enlightenment and financial assistance for the indigent patient is recommended.

A CAJM article on the pattern of cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) in Benin City, Nigeria.