Treatment of Secondary Lip and Nasal Deformities of Unilateral Lip Cleft

Objective To explore methods for repairing secondary lip and nasal deformities of unilateral lip cleft.Methods 35 cases with secondary lip and nasal deformities of unilateral cleft lip were treated with different procedures according to the different locations and degree of secondary deformities.Furthermore,memorial alloy suture was applied in secondary nasal deformities with satisfactory results.Results One patient received another revision surgery three months after operation.A few patient had weak alae. Dramatic aesthetic improvement were achieved in all patients.Conclusion The method for repairing secondary deformities of unilateral cleft lip is not a fixative procedure which is more complicated than the cleft repair surgery.The patients often have a high expectation.We advise a simple,less traumatic,and effective procedure.The alar cartilage needs to be freed completely from the overlying skin in the severe nasal deformities,cartilage autograft or artificial materials transplantation are often necessary to correct the deformities.