Scar flap for extension of the nasal and lip soft tissue shell in secondary cleft deformities: final aesthetic touches in clefts-part iii.

A scar flap is formed with the pedicle at the lateral part of the columella base at the cleft side, that is, in the center of the affected region. It enables flap placement according to individual need. A prospective evaluation was performed in a group of 76 patients with cleft lip and palate, all operated on by the same plastic surgeon. The flap was used to improve the height of the columella and the extent of nasal mucosa on the frontal septum and on the nostril base in the vestibule. In the lip, the flap raised its height and improved proportionality. The average area of flap used in a unilateral deformity was 42 mm. Both flaps in a bilateral deformity were 77 mm. The average follow-up was 22.4 months. Neither local nor general complications were noted apart from a recurrence of the deformity of the nasal septum in 7.9% of patients. The nasal passage was improved in 59.9% of patients and normalized in 19.6% upon follow-up rhinomanometry, but nevertheless, only one third of patients overcame their dynamic stereotype of breathing by the mouth. Anthropometric measurements showed an absence of statistically significant differences between patients after surgery and healthy individuals in crucial parameters (nasal tip projection, length of columella, nasolabial angle, nasal angle, and lip angle). The loss of the stigmatizing deformity is based on rotation of the nasolabial angle in relation to the aesthetic axis of the face. Direct examination proved aesthetic and functional improvement as statistically significant in 92.1% of patients.