Secondary lip correction in unilateral clefts.

Although all surgeons try to achieve the best possible result in the primary operation of a cleft, a certain percentage of cases might still need secondary corrections. The causes include not only lack of experience of the surgeon, but also the reaction of a child with its individual scar formation, disturbance in the healing of the wound, or the growth of the face, any of which might give an unfavorable result. In secondary operations we must distinguish between minor and major problems.

Lip repair techniques and their influence on the nose.

The cleft nose has long been a problem when closing the lip in a cleft palate patient. More today than in the past, close attention is paid to the outcome of the nasal form, nasal base, and the position of distorted structures like the alar cartilage and the septum. The different techniques of lip closure can be used simultaneously with the nasal correction.