Craniofacial Anthropometry in Newborns and Infants

Objective: The face is involved in many syndromes of dysmorphogenesis. The soft tissue faciallandmarks are known to be influenced by age, race and sex and it is imperative to identify a balancebetween them before reconstructive surgery. Further, with knowledge of standard facial traits, anindividualized norm can be established to optimize facial attractiveness.Material Methods: Measurements were made on 60 infants (30 males and 30 females) agedbetween 1-4 months and 60 newborns (30 males and 30 females) with a view to establish the criterionof facial anthropometry for this age group in North Indians. A special emphasis was given in thisstudy to sexual dimorphism.Findings: The mean value and range for all the parameters was determined for the North Indianpopulation. A statistically significant sexual dimorphism was noted to exist in ear length (P 0.01)and length of the philtrum (P 0.05). Philtral–commissural ratio was determined for North Indians,philtrum width=oral width/3.2.Conclusion: The local values derived from well defined populations should be used as reference inthe evaluation of a case with dimorphic features. This study demonstrates the existence of a partialpositive correlation between philtral width and oral width, i.e. when one increases the other alsoincreases and vice versa. The Philtral–commissural relationship is expected to assist in planningphiltral construction in cleft lip patients.