Purpose: The management for primary unilateral cleft lip nose deformities has not yet been established. In this study, short-term postoperative nasal forms after presurgical nasoalveolar molding (NAM) followed by primary lip repair for children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) were evaluated and compared with the nasal forms achieved by treatment without nose correction.
Patients and methods: Fifteen patients with complete UCLP who were treated in our department and followed up for more than 1 year (range 1 to 5 yrs) were enrolled. All subjects underwent presurgical orthopedic treatment with NAM, followed by lip repair using Cronin's triangular flap method with medial-upward advancement of nasolabial components with vestibular expansion. Postoperative nasal forms including nostril height and width ratio, ratio of the height of the top of the alar groove, and curvature of the appropriate circle of the nasal ala were evaluated using color photographs. Fifteen patients with complete UCLP who underwent presurgical orthopedic treatment using a Hotz plate followed by lip repair without nose correction served as controls.
Results: The comparison of postoperative nasal forms demonstrated that the nostril height and width ratio and the height of the top of the alar groove in the correction group were significantly superior compared with those of the controls.
Conclusions: Our management of cleft lip nose will provide good nasal forms with minimum invasion in patients with UCLP. Long-term follow-up will be necessary to clarify effects on the growth of nasal tissues reconstructed in infancy.