Social impact of cleft lip repair on married adults: an uncommon finding from a semi-urban African settlement

• Published in: British journal of oral & maxillofacial surgery 2019-04, Vol.57 (3), p.242-245
• Main Authors: Omeje, Uchenna Kelvin, Owobu, Thomas, Agbara, Rowland
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Cleft Lip - surgery; Cleft lip repair; Cleft Palate; counseling; Dentistry; Esthetics, Dental; Female; Humans; Male; marital satisfaction; Marriage; Retrospective Studies; Social Change; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0266-4356; 1532-1940
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2019.02.007

An orofacial cleft may have an appreciable psychosocial impact on patients that could affect their social lives, including the choice of who they marry. We retrospectively reviewed the impact of repair of cleft lip on marriage in adult patients in our institution by questioning a group of patients treated from July 2009-June 2017. There were 120 adult patients who had cleft lips repaired, of whom 17 (14%) patients changed their marital status. The mean (SD) ages of the 17 were 32 (1), range 20–41, years. Five of the 17 were men, and 12 women, with a male:female ratio of 0.4: 1. All 17 patients confirmed that the unrepaired cleft affected the choice of who they initially married. After repair, the five male patients married additional wives (one wife each (n=4), and two wives (n=1)). Of the 12 female patients all divorced their spouses, but only nine had remarried at the time of the study. We conclude that unrepaired cleft lip in an adult in our environment may affect the choice of partner. This choice may be altered if facial aesthetics improve after repair of the cleft.