Effect of lip adhesion on maxillary arch alignment and reduction of a cleft's width before definitive cheilognathoplasty in unilateral and bilateral complete cleft lip.

High tension and tissue dislocation caused by wide maxillary clefts could prevent an optimal aesthetic and functional outcome in primary cheilognathoplasty. Many surgical techniques or conservative (orthodontic and orthopaedic) devices have been proposed for the initial management of infants with complete cleft lip and palate to achieve a tension-free repair of the lip. Adhesion converts a wide unilateral complete cleft into a lesser deformity anatomically similar to an incomplete cleft lip. This study aimed to measure the effect of lip adhesion on the width of maxillary clefts. Between 2000 and 2007 lip adhesion was used on 49 consecutive infants affected by complete unilateral (n = 35) and bilateral (n = 14) cleft lip and palate. The indication for lip adhesion was the presence of a wide alveolar cleft (gap > 7 mm) with severely malpositioned maxillary segments. Lip adhesion was done at about 48 days, followed by definitive cheilognathoplasty at 98 days. Photographs and impressions were obtained before any operation. The width of the maxillary clefts was reduced by 60% in unilateral clefts and 61% in bilateral clefts. By converting a complete wide cleft lip to an incomplete cleft in both unilateral and bilateral clefts, adhesion of the lip achieved a better position and stabilised the arch in a symmetrical platform that eased both definitive closure of the defect in the lip and the restoration of the maxillary gap by periosteoplasty during definitive cheilognathoplasty.