Nasolabial Aesthetics Following Cleft Repair: An Objective Evaluation of Subjective Assessment.

OBJECTIVE: Assess the weight and contribution of each of the parameters of the Asher-McDade Scale to overall subjective assessment of nasolabial aesthetics following cleft lip repair.

DESIGN: Retrospective cohort evaluation.

SETTING: Cleft and craniofacial center.

PARTICIPANTS: Forty-one patients who underwent unilateral cleft lip repair.

INTERVENTIONS: Unilateral cleft lip repair.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Nasolabial rating using the Asher-McDade scale and overall subjective assessment of nasolabial aesthetics using a rank score following unilateral cleft lip repair.

RESULTS: Strong interrater reliability was observed between the 3 raters. Significant association was determined on bivariate analysis between nasal form score (β = 27.06; P < .001), nasal symmetry score (β = 26.41; P < .001), nasal profile score (β = 28.75; P < .001), vermilion border score (β = 13.40; P = .012), and the ranking score. Adjusted β coefficients obtained from multivariate regression analysis were used to develop a modified nasolabial appearance score (over 5), that is, weighted for each of the 4 parameters: nasal form (over 8, adjusted β = 14.33), nasal symmetry (over 5, adjusted β = 7.96), nasal profile (over 5, adjusted β = 9.44), and vermilion (over 2, adjusted β = 3.31). Regression analysis between our modified nasolabial appearance score and patient ranking score demonstrated superior goodness of fit when compared to the Asher-McDade overall nasolabial appearance score ( R 2 = .80; P < .001 vs R 2 = .69; P < .001).

CONCLUSION: The parameters evaluated in the Asher-McDade scale have different weights and contribute differently to overall subjective assessment of nasolabial aesthetic outcomes following cleft lip repair. Adjusting for their weights results in a modified score that demonstrates superior correlation with overall subjective assessment of nasolabial aesthetic outcomes.