Anatomical closure technique of the nasal floor for patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate

Abstract

We describe a new technique for the reconstruction of the nasal floor at the same time as cheiloplasty in patients with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate. We operated on patients aged between 3 and 36 months in public secondary and tertiary level institutions. None of these patients had had a previous operation for the correction of the cleft lip or palate. The operation required the design of two mucous flaps, one lateral and one medial to the defect, to reposition the tissues anatomically and repair the congenital deficiency. Three hundred and fifty-eight patients have been treated using this technique, most of whom (n = 233, 65%) were boys, and 288 (80%) presented with a right complete unilateral cleft. Postoperative evaluation showed that 22 patients (6%) had asymmetry of the nasal base equal to or less than 1 mm, 18 (5%) had nasovestibular fistulas, and 5 (1%) required revision. We conclude that this technique greatly reduces the number of asymmetrical nasal floors and the incidence of nasovestibular fistulas.

Key Words::

• Cleft lip
• cleft palate
• surgical flap