Abstract: Objective: To study the correlation between nasal airflow and internal nasal malformation in patients with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate. Methods: 49 patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate at the age of 9-11 years old were selected as the study group. 32 children with noncleft at the corresponding age were selected as the control group. The nasal resistance tester was used to measure the ventilation. The resistance was correlated with the corresponding measurement data of the internal nasal malformation. Results: Of the 49 patients, the intranasal malformation was measured by nasal septum deviation. The distance of deviation of the nasal septum was 9.12±3.76mm, and the angle of deviation was (20.8±2.7)°. The distance of the nasal septum deviation and the deviation angle of the patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate were larger than those of the control group (P<0.05). The mean value of nasal resistance values in the cleft lip and palate group was (0.832±0.254) Pa/(s·cm³), and the mean nasal resistance of the control group was (0.627±0.167) Pa/(s·cm³), (P<0.05). The cleft lip and palate group had a larger nasal resistance value than the control group. The size of nasal resistance was positively correlated with the distance between the nasal septum and the angle of deflection (r=0.754, P<0.001, r=0.652, P<0.001). Conclusion: Intranasal malformation in patients with unilateral complete cleft lip and palate was severe, which might lead to increased nasal ventilation resistance.

Key words: nasal ventilation, unilateral complete cleft lip and palate, measurement, nasal septal malformation, CBCT