title: [Management of nasolabial clefts: the issue in Dakar].
abstract: The management of patients with a cleft lip in developing countries is often the prerogative of humanitarian missions from developed countries. The goal of our work is to conduct a first epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic assessment of the management of cleft lips by a local team and to evidence the difficulties faced by us in our working conditions. In a retrospective study covering a period of about five years (January 2004 to March 2009), 205 cases of nasolabial clefts are assembled. The mean age at the time of the first visit is 17 months. A slight female predominance is observed. The majority of patients are from the capital city. A close relative with a cleft is found in 6.8% of them. In 44.9% of cases, it is a simple cleft lip. A cleft palate is associated in 47.8% of cases. Associated malformations are observed in 10.5% of cases. We operated on 110 patients. The mean age at the first surgery is two years. Millard's technique is our technique of choice. No operative mortality is observed. In 17.4% of cases, operative morbidity occurred in the form of suppuration with partial or complete early suture release. The esthetic result is satisfactory in 67.7% of cases. This management could be improved by creating a multidisciplinary team including--in addition to surgeons--dentists, speech-language pathologists, psychologists, etc.
authors.affiliation: Unité de chirurgie plastique, service de chirurgie pédiatrique, hôpital Aristide Le Dantec, BP 100, Dakar, Sénégal. aasankale@yahoo.fr
authors.forename: A-A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Sankale
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ndiaye
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Baillet
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ndiaye
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ndoye
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D008297:Male; D010348:Patient Care Team; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012675:Senegal; D013529:Surgical Wound Dehiscence / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery