Surgical Management of Oro-Facial Clefts at a Tertiary Care Hospital in a Resource-Limited Setting: A Tanzanian Experience

Background: Orofacial clefts are the most common craniofacial anomalies in most parts of the world and its management remains a challenge to otorhinolaryngology, plastic/reconstructive, oral and maxillofacial surgeons practicing in resource limited countries. There is limited data on surgical management of these birth defects in Tanzania and Bugando Medical Centre (BMC) in particular. This study aimed to describe our own experience regarding the surgical management of orofacial clefts at BMC, a tertiary care hospital in Tanzania. Methods: This was a cross sectional study involving all children with orofacial clefts that were treated at BMC between February 2019 and June 2019. Results: A total of 98 patients with orofacial clefts were recruited. Males outnumbered males by a male to female ratio of 1.7:1. The majority of patients (64.3%) were within 12 months at presentation. The median ages at surgery in patients with cleft lip and those with cleft palate were 3 [IQR, 2 to 8] and 11(IQR, 7 to 18) months, respectively. Orofacial clefts in association with congenital anomalies were recorded in 5(5.1%) patients. More than half of patients (55.1%) had combined cleft lip and palate. Unilateral clefts, 77(78.5%) were more common and showed left side preponderance in 52(53.1%) patients. All patients underwent cleft surgery under general anesthesia. Millard rotation advancement flap repair and von-Langenbeck were the most common techniques of cleft lip and palate repair performed in 42(52.5%) and 30 (41.7%) patients, respectively. The overall complication rate was 14.3% and the most common postoperative complications were bleeding, palatal fistula, wound dehiscence and surgical site infections in 6(31.6%), 4(21.1%) and 3(15.8%) each respectively. No death was recorded in this study. Among the 98 patients operated, 79 were treated successfully giving an overall success rate of 80.6%. The success rate was significantly influenced by nutrition status (p= 0.010), co-existing con