This study aimed at investigating the current distribution of the several types of clefts among the patients receiving treatment at the Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies (HRAC-USP), Bauru, Brazil, for the first time during the year 2000. A total of 803 unoperated patients with cleft lip and/or palate, with or without additional malformations, with no recognizable syndromes, who came to the HRAC-USP for enrollment for treatment during the year 2000. A predominance of complete cleft lip and palate, either unilateral or bilateral, was observed (37.1%), followed by isolated cleft palate (31.7%) and isolated cleft lip (28.4%). A discrete relationship between cleft palate and the female gender was noticed (53%), and males were more affected by the other types of clefts (around 60%). The findings revealed a predominance of complete clefts of the primary and secondary palate, the treatment of which is more complex, and whose frequency is greater in males.
Cleft lip; Cleft palate; Epidemiology
