Upper lip measurements at the time of surgery and follow-up after modified rotation-advancement flap repair in unilateral cleft lip patients.

Abstract

The purpose of this prospective study was to determine whether unilateral cleft lip repaired by the rotation-advancement flap will grow short on the repaired side. This study involved 56 patients with nonsyndromic unilateral cleft lip (31 with complete and 25 with incomplete cleft lip) who underwent a rotation-advancement flap repair by a single surgeon between 1989 and 1997. Eleven patients were lost to follow-up. Forty-five patients have been followed for a varying period of between 8 and 84 months (mean = 37 months). The upper lip was measured immediately after the lip repair and follow-up using calipers. The growth ratios of vertical, horizontal, and nostril sill dimensions were compared between the cleft side and the noncleft side of the same face. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the growths between the cleft and noncleft sides. There was not a significant difference in the growth ratios of vertical (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p = 0.85) and horizontal dimensions (Student's t test, p = 0.18) between the cleft and noncleft sides. There was, however, a statistically significant difference in the growth ratios of nostril sill width between the cleft and noncleft sides (Student's t test, p = 0.02). Our findings indicated that a repaired unilateral cleft retained the vertical and horizontal dimensions determined at the time of the initial repair.