A left transverse facial cleft with a median cleft of the lower jaw.

OBJECTIVE

A 13-day-old girl with a left transverse facial cleft and a median defect of the lower jaw is reported in detail. Left macrostomia was repaired using a W-plasty technique, and preauricular appendages were excised. The median defect of the mandible demonstrated by computed tomography scan on the first examination had disappeared at 1 year of age.

CONCLUSION

Congenital clefts of the mandible can fuse at a later stage; thus, it is necessary to wait to treat the mandibular defect until the infant is slightly older.