ABSTRACT
Presurgical infant orthopedics has been employed since 1950 as an adjunctive neonatal
therapy for the correction of cleft lip and palate. Most of these therapies did not
address deformity of the nasal cartilage in unilateral and bilateral cleft lip and
palate as well as the deficiency of the columella tissue in infants with bilateral
cleft. The nasolaveolar molding (NAM) technique a new approach to presurgical infant
orthopedics developed by Grayson reduces the severity of the initial cleft alveolar
and nasal deformity. This enables the surgeon and the patient to enjoy the benefits
associated with repair of a cleft deformity that is minimal in severity. This paper
will discuss the appliance design, clinical management and biomechanical principles
of nasolaveolar molding therapy. Long term studies on NAM therapy indicate better
lip and nasal form, reduced oronasal fistula and labial deformities, 60 % reduction
in the need for secondary alveolar bone grafting. No effect on growth of midface in
sagittal and vertical plane has been recorded up to the age of 18 yrs. With proper
training and clinical skills NAM has demonstrated tremendous benefit to the cleft
patients as well as to the surgeon performing the repair.
KEY WORDS
Cleft lip and palate - Nasoalveolar moulding - Presurgical orthopaedics