Unilateral Cleft Lip Repair

Cleft lip deformity is due to failure of the fusion of the paired medial nasal prominences and paired maxillary prominences during the sixth and seventh weeks of embryonic development to form the upper lip. Cleft lip afflicts Asians and Native Americans most commonly (1 in 500 births), while it afflicts Africans (1 in 2500 births) least commonly. Treatment of cleft lip requires surgical repair. This typically involves a multidisciplinary team and can involve a course in presurgical orthopedics. The timing of surgical repair and the decision of whether to address the nasal deformity at the time of cleft lip repair is something that is debatable and influenced by surgeon preference and case-specific variables. The introduction of the rotation-advancement repair of the cleft lip deformity by Dr. Millard in 1955 offered a new technique that preserved the three-fourths of a normal Cupid’s bow, one philtral column, and the philtral dimple on the medial side of the cleft. Dr. Millard’s technique has been modified by himself and many other surgeons since its original description and is the most popular method of repair today. The authors use a modified version of the Mohler technique for unilateral cleft lip repair. Mohler’s technique is a modified version of Millard’s rotation-advancement repair.