Influence of Repaired Cleft Lip and Palate on Layperson Perception following Orthognathic Surgery

Background: Facial scarring and disharmony due to clefting is associated with psychosocial stress which may be improved by orthognathic surgery. The authors examine how a history of clefting influences change in layperson perception of a patient following orthognathic surgery. Methods: 1000 laypeople were recruited through Mechanical Turk to evaluate patient photographs pre- and post-orthognathic surgery. Nineteen patients – 5 with unilateral and 4 with bilateral clefting – were included. Respondents assessed 6 personality traits, 6 emotional expressions, and likelihood of 7 interpersonal experiences on a scale from 1-7. Results: Using Mann-Whitney U and independent samples t-tests, changes in all aspects of social perception post-procedure differed significantly between cleft vs. non-cleft cohorts (p