Objective
To understand whether observers from different background perceive three-dimensional facial images of post-repair cleft pediatric patients and normal individuals discrepantly in terms of aesthetics and interpersonal impressions by conducting a panel assessment.

Material and Methods
Three-dimensional craniofacial images of 20 post-surgical repair cleft lip and palate patients and 5 healthy Taiwanese individuals (6 to 12 years old) were captured using 3dMD system. Facial asymmetry was also measured using Matlab program. 3D Images were then presented to a panel composed of 15 clinicians (plastic surgery professionals), 40 adult laypersons and 40 pre-adolescent observers to assess the perception of normalcy and aesthetics, and also the impact on interpersonal impressions.

Results
All three groups of observers could perceive the difference between cleft and healthy images in terms of normalcy, and clinicians were more sensitive toward perceiving aesthetic differences. As to the impact on interpersonal impressions, more negative results in cleft group were reported by all three categories of observers but without significant differences(p > 0.05).

Conclusions
This study reveals that the panel assessment of perception on craniofacial normalcy and aesthetics of post-repair cleft patients and normal subjects was influenced by the category of raters. And surgical professionals tend to report more positive aesthetic results on healthy individuals than laypersons (adult and adolescent).