Featuring growth of the external nose among patients with congenital cleft anomalies.

Cleft lip and palate deformities are usually accompanied by abnormal external nasal morphology which seriously affects facial aesthetics and quality of life. In-depth understanding of the growth pattern of external nasal morphology in patients with cleft lip and palate is essential for deciding the optimal timing of surgical intervention and for furthering improvements in surgical technique. In this review we systematically depict the cross-sectional changes in external nose morphology during growth in the normal population and in patients with clefts, and summarise the iatrogenic impacts on growth of the cleft nose, aiming to provide a reference to further improve the management of the nose in patients with clefts.