Analysis of 109 Japanese children's lip and nose shapes using 3-dimensional digitizer.

We assessed lip and nose shapes, which played an important role in performance evaluations, before and after cleft lip and nose surgery. We used a noncontact-type semiconductor laser 3-dimensional measurement system on normal Japanese children to obtain 3-dimensional images of noses and lips, which were accurate enough to measure facial shapes. We could rotate these images on the computer, therefore we measured the following points: the distance between the peaks of the Cupid's bow and the width of the labial fissure (frontal view), and the width of the nose and the nasal tip protrusion (basal view). Lip and nose shapes were evaluated for each gender. Additionally, nasolabial angles (NLA) were measured on the lateral views of faces. We classified the morphology of the philtral columns into four types; (1) triangular type, (2) parallel type, (3) concave type, and (4) flat type. We also classified nostril shapes into four types: (1) teardrop type, (2) heart shaped type, (3) round type, and (4) triangular type. We calculated the average of the 3-dimensional coordinate values for each landmark, and created standard facial models of normal Japanese children. Moreover, we invented a new morphological evaluation method before and after cleft lip and nose surgery, using the 3-dimensional data converting and editing software. The method was more feasible to evaluate the assessment cleft lip and nose surgery, by quantifying the surface areas of right and left nostrils and the surface areas of upper and lower vermilions, even now by measuring with the eyes and comparing them.