White Skin Roll Research Articles

Rationale for white skin roll flap in unilateral cleft lip repair: A retrospective anthropometric measurement analysis

Although the "white skin roll" of the lip is often considered a line, it is better defined as the subunit between the vermilion border and the upper lip horizontal groove. In many unilateral cleft lip repair techniques, this structure is approximated between both sides of the cleft without restoration. This study aimed to analyze the white skin roll height in patients with unilateral cleft lip. This retrospective cohort study included 134 consecutive infants with unilateral cleft lip aged 3-6 months who underwent lip repair in a single institution between January 2019 and July 2021. White skin roll heights at the peak of the Cupid's bow on the non-cleft side (CPHIR), cleft medial element (CPHIL), and cleft lateral element (CPHIL') were measured, and differences in their averages were analyzed. The mean height was 1.70±0.30mm at CPHIR, 0.98±0.33mm at CPHIL, and 1.28±0.32mm at CPHIL.' The mean difference in height between CPHIR-CPHIL, CPHIR-CPHIL,' and CPHIL-CPHIL' groups was significant for each paired sample (p<0.01). No difference was found between the complete and incomplete clefts or left and right clefts (p>0.01). A significantly reduced mean height of the white skin roll was present more markedly on the cleft medial element than on the cleft lateral element. Therefore, we strongly support using a white skin roll flap on the cleft lateral element for unilateral cleft lip repair, embracing the concepts of subunits and lip contour lines.

A New Technique of Unilateral Cleft Lip Repair with Scarless Cupid's Bow Peaks.

A novel technique for primary unilateral cleft lip repair with scarless Cupid's bow peaks is described. This technique focuses on the curvature of the Cupid's bow and the preservation of the minute three-dimensional structure around the cleft-side peak of the Cupid's bow, such as the cutaneous roll and white skin roll. This technique has been used in 50 consecutive unilateral cleft lip repairs by a single surgeon. The flap from the lateral lip is expanded into a three-stair flap, including a lateral white lip flap, a cutaneous roll flap, and a quadrangular mucovermilion flap as partial flaps. The cleft-side peak of the Cupid's bow is made to form a curved peak with the cutaneous roll. The suture lines pass through the lip columellar crease, philtrum ridge, and upper lip groove. These lines are stepwise, just like W-plasty, and do not cross the peak of the Cupid's bow. Measurements were obtained from three-dimensional photographs, and a visual assessment was performed by standard photographs taken 1 year or later postoperatively with no additional surgery, except for palatoplasty. The Noordhoff point was kept as the peak of the Cupid's bow with no scar. The three-dimensional structure, including the cutaneous roll around the cleft-side peak of the Cupid's bow, was well maintained. The present technique allows for the fashioning of a reliable intended peak of the Cupid's bow without scarring on its point and preserves the three-dimensional structure, including the cutaneous roll.

Management of Lip Pits in Van der Woude Syndrome: A Clinical Classification With Difficulty Index

Numerous case reports have been published on lip pits in Van der Woude syndrome explaining the morphology and genetics in detail; however, thus far, no article has focused on the classification of lip pits as an aid in surgical management. Although the procedure for lip pits in Van der Woude syndrome appears straightforward, even in the best of hands, the excision can be very challenging with no guarantee of esthetically desirable results. Therefore, we have devised a classification based on a difficulty index in the management of lower lip pits to assist in predicting the treatment outcome before surgery, as well as to offer the choice of a particular technique in a specific situation. We reviewed 19 cases of Van der Woude syndrome having lower lip pits that were operated on at our unit from May 2005 to June 2015 with a minimum follow-up of at least 6months. The data analyzed included the patient's age and gender, location of the lip pits with regard to their proximity to the white skin roll, number of lip pits, presurgical depth of the lip pits, and discharge of mucous secretion from the pits, as well as timing of lip pit excision. Four techniques of excision were performed via routine excision, modified routine excision, vertical wedge excision, and inverted-T lip reduction. The data were tabulated and analyzed. On the basis of our experience in managing lip pits, a clinically relevant classification with a difficulty index was then proposed. Among the 12 patients having preoperative involvement of the white skin roll, 8 had distortion of the white skin roll when operated on by either routine excision (n= 2), modified routine excision (n=3), or inverted-T lip reduction (n= 3). The remaining 4 patients had no distortion of the white skin roll after surgery when the vertical wedge excision technique was performed. The 7 patients who had no distortion of the white skin roll preoperatively presented with esthetic results when operated on by either the routine excision, modified routine excision, or inverted-T lip reduction technique. In 2 patients with a presurgical pit depth greater than 6mm, mucocele formation was observed after surgery. Using the data obtained, we proposed a classification based on 2 parameters: involvement of the white skin roll and presurgical depth. A difficulty index also was proposed using these same variables. Classification and evaluation of the difficulty of lip pit excision are essential in planning the surgical treatment to give improved esthetic results. This proposed classification and difficulty index will provide the operating surgeon with a standardized scheme to evaluate the difficulty of the excision as well as to predict the overall outcome of the procedure before surgery.

Upper Triangular Flap Method for Primary Repairs of Incomplete Unilateral Cleft Lip Patients

Incomplete unilateral cleft lips show a wide range of deformities, ranging from microform to near-complete clefts. Because there are different amounts and qualities of tissue present on the cleft and non-cleft sides, surgical approaches should make distinctions based on the remnant tissue. A new procedure using an upper triangular flap that combines characteristics of both rotation advancement and straight line repair was applied and the surgical results were reviewed. Between June 2007 and April 2011, 28 patients with minor to two-thirds way unilateral cleft lips [minor (n = 12), one-third (n = 2), halfway (n = 11), and two-thirds way (n = 3)] were subjected to the upper triangular flap method. The patients ranged in age from 62 days to 6 years (mean, 9 months). The average follow-up period was 25 months (range, 12-60 months). The repairs were successful in all 28 patients without complications. The scar was acceptable because it ran along the vertical philtral columns. During the follow-up period, long lip deformities and Cupid bow drooping were not observed in any of the patients. However, misalignment of the white skin roll was observed due to insufficient rotation at the cleft side in 1 patient. The repairs of minor to two-thirds way unilateral cleft lips using the upper triangular flap method allowed for a symmetric Cupid bow and philtrum. Moreover, this method allowed for satisfactory nostril sill reconstruction with acceptable scarring. The upper triangular flap method is recommended as an alternative to conventional methods for repair of minor to two-thirds way incomplete unilateral cleft lips.

Reconstruction of Bilateral Cleft Lip and Nose Deformity

Bilateral cleft lip and nose deformity can be divided into several types according to the extent of the cleft, protruding premaxilla, size of prolabium and nose deformity. Many repair techniques introduced in the literatures were not perfect because of the change of facial profile under the influence of facial growth.The author uses 1-stage cheiloplasty with nose correction for bilateral cleft lip and nose deformity. Early lip adhesion is used before definitive corrections in wide-cleft patients. The lateral mucosal flaps are used for the lining of alveolar cleft. The lateral orbicularis oris peripheralis flaps with the mucosa approximate in front of premaxilla with creation of a buccal alveolar sulcus and continuity of an orbicularis oris muscle. The lateral orbicularis marginalis muscle flaps with white skin roll and vermillion are used for reconstruction of the Cupid's bow. To enhance the median tubercle, prolabial vermilliomucosal flap is inserted into the gap between an approximated orbicularis peripheralis flap and an approximated orbicularis marginalis flap. Z-plasty of the vestibular ridge and the fixation of lower lateral cartilages to dissect through alar rim excision achieve columella lengthening and tip projection. Lip scar revision is rare, but secondary nose correction using triple V-Y flap is frequent.

Straight line repair of unilateral cleft lip: new operative method based on 25 years experience

The resultant scar in the primary repair of unilateral cleft lip should ideally be straight and the mirror image of the philtrum on the non-cleft side. In 1993, we reported a new operative technique for unilateral cleft lip, in which we designed a straight line for the incision on the white lip. In order to produce the nostril floor, we used the white lip tissue in the area between the alar base and alveolus at the cleft side as a flap. We also used a small triangular flap above the white skin roll to prevent Cupid's peak from being drawn up. Unlike the rotation-advancement method, our technique does not leave a transverse scar at the alar base. Instead, it leaves a scar only along the line coincident with the natural philtral ridge. However, during observations of our patients, we noticed that the small triangular flap designed to be 1.5mm tended to become a conspicuous angular scar as the patients grew older. In addition, drooping of Cupid's peak on the cleft side was often observed with this small triangular flap. To make it less conspicuous, we made some modifications to the small flap above the white skin roll. With this new technique, we designed a semi-circular flap (1.5 x 3mm) above the white skin roll, instead of the small triangular flap. The suture line of our refined procedure draws a gentle curve, which looks almost straight because of skin elasticity. Moreover, the semi-circular flap causes less drooping of the upper lip than the triangular flap. We believe that revising the shape of the small flap on the white skin roll greatly improves patients' appearance. In this report, we present our refined techniques of primary repair of unilateral cleft lip.

The change in the appearance of the vermilion border region caused by the difference of the design in symmetric bilateral incomplete cleft lip repair

In the widely performed methods for repair of bilateral cleft lips, such as Mulliken and Trott methods, the formation of the median tubercle is done with the mucocutaneous flaps from the lateral lips. By this manoeuver, a visible horizontal scar just above the white skin roll of the philtral region tends to result, especially among Asian patients. To avoid the formation of this visible scar, we changed our design in such a way that mucosal flaps, instead of mucocutaneous flaps, are elevated from the lateral lips, and the prolabial white skin roll is preserved to become the final philtral white skin roll. By this change in design, the horizontal scar is shifted to the inferior edge of the vermilion border. In the past 8 years, we have performed this refined method along with the conventional one. In the present study, the five cases of symmetric bilateral incomplete cleft lip from each of the two groups are evaluated: one group with the mucocutaneous flaps and the other with the mucosal flaps. From the review of the cases, it was noted that when the philtral region is formed with the mucocutaneous flaps, the horizontal scar tends to be visible. On the other hand, when it is formed with the mucosal flaps, the scar is less conspicuous, although the white skin roll sometimes becomes less-defined. The refined method involving mucosal flaps from the lateral lips produces a better-accepted appearance concerning the prolabial horizontal scar in the symmetric bilateral incomplete cleft lip repair.

Surgical creation of a Cupid's bow using W-plasty in patients after cleft lip surgery

The three-dimensional contour of the Cupid's bow is extremely important from a cosmetic standpoint, and many patients with bilateral or unilateral cleft lip require revision or reconstruction of the Cupid's bow. A number of surgical techniques have been reported for creating the Cupid's bow, among which the methods of Gillies and Onizuka are the most widely known. In the methods of Gillies and Onizuka, the dog-ear can result in excessive volume in the vermilion notch, raising the trough in the Cupid's bow and leading to regression during the post-surgical period. We have improved upon these techniques using the W-plasty and have obtained satisfactory results that preserve the white skin roll. In our method, the left and right prominence of the Cupid's bow is created through an incision of the white lip, while the central trough is created through a curvilinear incision of the vermilion mucosa. At the two sites of the white lip tissue and the curvilinear incision of the central vermilion tissue, the white skin roll is preserved as much as possible. In patients where the Gillies method had been used, the Cupid's bow tended to be flattened gradually after surgery. We report on the details of our method and the case reports using the technique.

The diamond vermilion flap--a new technique for vermilion augmentation in cleft lip repair.

In most cleft lips patients, the vermilion on the medial aspect of the repair is deficient in height. Not many surgeons have dealt with ways to augment the height of the vermilion at this location. In the unilateral cleft lip, the repair may include the insertion of a small triangular vermilion flap from the cleft side into an incision made for it in the muco-vermilion junction of the noncleft side. We have developed a new technique to further augment the vermilion in incomplete cleft lip patients. Vermilion remnants may be present in these patients on the scar tissue between the margins of the cleft. A diamond-shaped vermilion flap based on its attachments to the orbicularis oris muscle may be transposed into the noncleft side to an incision made caudal and parallel to the muco-vermilion border. Then the triangular vermilion flap may be inserted just distal to the island flap. Using this method, the vermilion is augmented and the muco-vermilion line parallels more the white skin roll.

Primary repair of an incomplete unilateral cleft lip: avoiding an elongated lip and achieving a straight suture line

The methods designed for the repair of a complete cleft lip should not be used to repair an incomplete cleft lip. This results too often in the postoperative drooping of the white lip on the affected side because in most incomplete cleft lips there is more tissue on the cleft side than in complete cleft lip. We present and discuss the refinements we made in our original technique for complete cleft lip in order to adapt it to incomplete cleft lip repair. The skin design at the white skin roll follows Cronin's method with an incision perpendicular to the vermilion border. The suture that pulls the edges of the angular incisions together pushes on the white skin roll caudally. This ensures that the peak of the Cupid's bow on the cleft side does not droop postoperatively. It also ensures that it does not take on an acute angle and that the vermilion border will be a continuous line without a break. We do not create a triangular flap at the vermilion border, but we raise a triangular flap at the alar base on the cleft side and advance it to the bottom of the columella. This creates the nostril sill and corrects the flared alar base. The resulting suture line is completely straight and runs along the philtral column. In this way, the postoperative elongation of the white lip on the cleft side can be prevented.

The Anatomy of Cupidʼs Bow in Normal and Cleft Lip

This is a gross and microscopic examination of the cutaneous-vermilion-mucosal region (Cupid's bow) in infants with normal lip as compared to cleft lip. Morphologic observations of lips in situ were made with magnification. Specimens for histology were from the normal upper lip of infants (n = 3) and adults (n = 4), and from redundant tissue made available during primary repair of cleft lip (n = 13) and cleft lip revision (n = 4). Tissues were analyzed with hematoxylin and eosin, Gomori trichrome, and Fontana-Masson stains. Immunoperoxidase stains were used to emphasize vascular endothelium and epithelial cytokeratins. Our observations support the hypothesis that the anterior projection of the pars marginalis of the musculus orbicularis oris gives rise to the normal cutaneous-vermilion junction ("white skin roll" of Gillies-Millard). The band of vellus hairs, found atop the vermilion-cutaneous junction, also highlights the rim of Cupid's bow. There was no abrupt alteration in vasculature, melanin, or cytokeratin content in the white roll. Proceeding caudally, the vermilion-mucosal region was characterized by progressively increasing epidermal thickness and size of rete ridges, decreasing melanin, more superficial capillaries, and an abrupt transition from keratinized to nonkeratinized squamous epithelium ("red line" of Noordhoff). In the cleft lip specimens, where white roll was absent, there was hypoplasia and disorientation of the underlying pars marginalis component of m. orbicularis oris. Vellus hair follicles were seen in the zone of presumptive white roll in clefts, just as in normal lip. Frequently, these pilar units contained disproportionately large sebaceous glands. In some cleft lip specimens, ectopic sebaceous glands were noted in the oral mucosa. We also observed a deficiency of vermilion width on the medial side of unilateral cleft lip, whereas the width of the vermilion at the crest of the bow was normal or slightly increased in the lateral cleft segment. A narrow vermilion band and exposed hypoplastic mucosa were characteristic of the prolabium in the bilateral complete cleft deformity. The findings of this study are pertinent to technical details for construction of the Cupid's bow and vermilion in unilateral and bilateral cleft lip.

Bilateral cleft lip reconstruction.

Over a period of 8 years 140 bilateral cleft lips were operated using a muscle-repositioning banked fork-flap cheiloplasty. The use of buccal mucosal flaps in the intercartilaginous incision is helpful to decrease scarring and contracture by facilitating alar cartilage repositioning and wound closure without tension. Adding mucosa from the inferior turbinate makes complete wound closure relatively easy without tension. A lateral lip orbicularis muscle flap with white skin roll and vermilion is recommended for reconstruction of the Cupid's bow. Muscle continuity by freeing the muscle in one sheet and repositioning in front of the premaxilla with creation of a buccal alveolar sulcus is stressed to prevent the necessity of reentering the lip in a second procedure. The elongation of the columella is done at 1 to 6 years of age by advancing nasal floor tissue onto the columella and repositioning the alar cartilages superiorly and medially. When nasal floor tissue is inadequate, columellar lengthening is done by the use of a composite free ear graft.

Reconstruction of vermilion in unilateral and bilateral cleft lips.

The white skin roll is a useful term to describe the cutaneo-vermilion border of the lip. The muco-vermilion border line parallels the white skin roll and is described as the red line. The lip vermilion should be constructed so that these lines are parallel and widest at the base of the philtral column. It is suggested that the triangular lateral lip vermilion flap be used in unilateral cleft lips. In bilateral cleft lips, a white skin roll vermilion-mucosal muscle flap is used for reconstruction of vermilion.