A new primary cleft lip repair technique tailored for Asian patients that combines three surgical concepts: Comparison with rotation--advancement and straight-line methods.

Abstract

Various techniques have been described for unilateral cleft lip repair. These may be broadly classified into three types of procedure/concept: the straight-line method (SL; Rose-Thompson effect); rotation-advancement (RA; upper-lip Z-plasty); and the triangular flap method (TA; lower-lip Z-plasty). Based on these procedures, cleft lip repair has evolved in recent decades. The cleft lip repair method in our institution has also undergone several changes. However, we have found that further modifications are needed for Asian patients who have wider philtral dimples and columns than Caucasians, while following the principles of the original techniques mentioned above. Here, we have incorporated the advantages of each procedure and propose a refined hybrid operating technique, seeking a more appropriate procedure for Asian patients. To evaluate our new technique, a comparison study was performed to evaluate RA, SL, and our technique. We have used our new technique to treat 137 consecutive cleft lip cases of all types and degrees of severity, with or without a cleft palate, since 2009. In the time since we adopted the hybrid technique, we have observed improved esthetics of the repaired lip. Our technique demonstrated higher glance impression average scores than RA/SL.