[Advantages of primary rhinoplasty in the treatment of lip fissure].

Congenital cleft lip is always associated to nasal deformity. The classical approach has been not to treat the severe nose defects during childhood, in the fear that early surgery would interfere with nasal growth. However, long term follow-up in patients with early conservative rhinoplasty has shown the nose to hold its new shape and its growth to be normal. During the period between november 1996 and november 1998, 22 infants affected with cleft lip underwent early rhinoplasty according to McComb's technique. During the follow-up period (6 months to 30 months) the children had a good nasal growth. The nose tip is in the medial position in all cases, and only the inferior view of the nose shows a discrete nosetril assimetry in some patients.