Full-thickness skin graft in the secondary repair of bilateral cleft lip. A case report.
A 13-week-old boy with bilateral complete cleft lip and palate is presented. He had three attempted repairs of his lip elsewhere over a period of four weeks, and all of these broke down. Consequently, a substantial amount of his prolabium became necrotic. After a preoperative orthodontic realignment of the cleft segments, a secondary lip/nose repair was performed. The mucosa was reconstructed by advancement flaps. The orbicularis muscle was dissected out from its abnormal insertion and reconstructed in the midline. The philtrum was reconstructed with a full-thickness skin graft from the right postauricular area. The six-month postoperative result was satisfactory. This technique could be considered as an alternative to primary Abbé flap in secondary reconstruction of the cleft lip, although long-term follow-up must be obtained.
Nadjmi
N
N
Institute for Craniofacial and Reconstructive Surgery, affiliated with Providence Hospital, Southfield, Michigan 48075, USA.
Jackson
I T
IT
D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects; D012086:Reoperation; D012225:Rhinoplasty; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D013529:Surgical Wound Dehiscence / Q000601:surgery