Cleft lip and palate, commonly known as harelip or split lip, is a common congenital defect of the lips that has a significant impact on facial appearance. Its main characteristic is the presence of varying degrees of clefts on one or both sides of the upper lip, which may even coexist with a cleft palate.
Cleft lip and palate can be divided into unilateral and bilateral types, and from a treatment perspective, they can also be categorized into three types: occult cleft, incomplete cleft lip, and complete cleft.
The treatment method for cleft lip and palate involves surgical repair and suturing to correct the deformity. There are several surgical techniques for repairing cleft lips, including rotation-advancement technique, triangular flap method, rectangular flap method, etc. The optimal time for cleft lip surgery is between 6 to 10 months after birth.
The advantages of these methods include preserving more tissue; the repaired upper lip is relatively loose, with a neat lip shape, visible philtrum, and minimal scarring. However, some patients may experience re-collapse at the base of the nose, increased scarring, or dynamic deformities of the upper lip soon after surgery, leading to unsatisfactory long-term results. These issues may be related to improper design and operation, poor muscular layer suturing, etc.
In recent years, research by domestic and international cosmetic experts on the orbicularis oris muscle suggests that the primary reason for poor long-term results after previous surgeries was the neglect of rotating and repositioning the fibers of the orbicularis oris muscle.