SP52. Comparative Analysis of Cleft-Q Scores and Operative Burden Between Transfer and Non-transfer Cleft Lip and Palate Patients

BACKGROUND: The management of cleft lip and/or palate typically requires multidisciplinary care, and some patients undergo transfer for continued treatment. Understanding the impact of transfer on patient outcomes is crucial for optimizing care, particularly for “late comers” such as transferred patients, adoptees, and those from military families. This study aims to descriptively compare outcomes between transfer and non-transfer cleft lip and palate patients. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed comparing CLEFT-Q scores and operative burden using SPSS software. Operative burden encompassed the number of palate, lip, nose, and isolated revision procedures. CLEFT-Q domains included face, speech, eating and drinking, school life, dental, nose, and nostrils. RESULTS: The transfer group (n=17) consistently reported lower CLEFT-Q scores compared to the non-transfer group (n=17) in areas such as Face, Speech Function, Speech Distress, Nose, and Nostrils, but reported better scores for Dental. However, these differences were not statistically significant. The transfer group experienced a significantly greater operative burden, with more palate revisions (2.56 vs. 0.76), lip revisions (0.61 vs. 0.35), nose revisions (0.39 vs. 0), and isolated revisions (1.50 vs. 0.59) compared to the non-transfer group. CONCLUSIONS: Transfer patients experience a significantly greater operative burden compared to non-transfer patients. While CLEFT-Q scores were generally lower for transfer patients, the differences were not statistically significant, potentially due to the limited sample size. Future research should prioritize expanding the sample size of CLEFT-Q evaluated patients and investigating additional outcomes in the “late-comer” population.