title: Bilateral vertical segmental distraction in a patient with bilateral cleft of lip, alveolus, and palate.
abstract: In cases of bilateral clefts of lip and palate there is often a vertical and transversal deficit of the cleft segments. Ideally these problems can be solved orthodontically. In severe cases there is a need of surgical support. Distraction osteogenesis allows the correction of transversal, horizontal, and vertical deficits. A case of a 13-year-old girl with a bilateral cleft of lip and palate is presented. The patient had a severe deficit of the distal cleft segments concerning the vertical and transversal dimension. Osteotomy of the segments was performed and a vertical distraction followed by a transpalatal distraction procedure was used to correct the discrepancies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Medical University Graz, Auenbruggerplatz 12, 8036 Graz, Austria.  margit.pichelmayer@medunigraz.at
authors.forename: Margit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pichelmayer
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zemann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000539:Alveolar Process / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000601:surgery*; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000601:surgery*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009971:Orthodontics, Corrective; D019857:Osteogenesis, Distraction / Q000379:methods*