title: Early columella elongation.
abstract: The author presents a new method of early columella elongation used since 1982 in the repair of 52 bilateral clefts. The method is suitable for two-stage lip repair without a strict muscle union behind the prolabium. So far, the results seem to be promising, since the children's postoperative appearance is almost normal and the disadvantages due to the so-called sheep nose deformity can be avoided.
mesh_terms: D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D009300:Nasal Septum / Q000601:surgery*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013997:Time Factors