Orofacial Clefts inWestern Slovakian Regions

Overview

Orofacial clefts are relatively frequent inborn developmental defects. The objective of our study wasto reveal the actual frequency of orofacial clefts in western Slovakia. From 390 404 liveborn childrenin Bratislava and the western Slovakian region in 1985–1999, 629 children with orofacial clefts wereoperated at a specialized department – the Clinic of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery of the MedicalFaculty, Comenius University Bratislava. The authors assessed the total incidence of orofacial cleftsfromthe records of the above department and reported data.For statistical evaluation of differencesthey used the χ2 test. The total incidence during the years of investigation in western Slovakia was1.611/103 liveborn children whereby in Bratislava town the incidence was higher than in the westernSlovakian region. Between individual districts these values had a wide range from 1.20–2.04/103liveborn infants. As regards different types, the authors found the highest incidence of orofacialclefts of the primary and secondary palate. The frequency in males was significantly higher. Asregards the risk of possible birth of an infant with this congenital developmental defect in westernSlovakia, the authors found a discrepancy between data on their records – 1 child/620 liveborninfants, and notified cases – 1 child/756 liveborn children.

Key words:
orofacial clefts – total incidence.