Clinical evaluation of silicone gel in the treatment of cleft lip scars.

Upper lip scars are at risk of hypertrophy. Our center therefore uses microporous tape and silicone sheeting for postoperative scar care following cleft lip repair. However, some babies have previously ingested their silicone sheeting, which has the potential for respiratory compromise or gastrointestinal obstruction. Self-dry silicone gel is reportedly also effective for preventing hypertrophic scars. Hence, we sought to test whether silicone gel, which cannot be ingested whole, might be non-inferior to silicone sheeting for controlling against upper lip scar hypertrophy. This was a mixed prospective and retrospective case-controlled clinical trial involving patients undergoing unilateral cleft lip repair, 29 of whom received standard postoperative silicone sheeting (control group) and another 33 age-matched consecutive patients who received self-dry silicone instead. The Vancouver scar scale, visual analogue scale and photographically assessed scar width assessments were the same in both groups at six months after surgery. In conclusion, silicone gel appears to be non-inferior to silicone sheeting for postoperative care of upper lip scars as judged by scar quality at six months, but silicone sheeting has the safety disadvantage that it can be swallowed whole by babies. It is thus recommended that silicone gel be used for upper lip scar management in babies.This article is freely available via Open Access. Click on the Additional Link above to access the full-text via the publisher's site

Treatment of Complete Bilateral Cleft Lip-Nasal Deformity

The modern technique of presurgical orthopedics and nasoalveolar molding produces a better skeletal foundation and nasal shape for the repair of the bilateral cleft lip-nasal deformity. The general principles are as follows: (1) preserve the presurgical columellar length; (2) keep the width of the central lip segment narrow without compromising the blood supply; (3) advance the columella prolabium complex superiorly to allow reconstruction of the orbicularis oris muscle behind the prolabium; (4) release the alar cartilage attachment from the pyriform rim and provide additional coverage of this soft tissue deficiency with the use of inferior turbinate flaps; (5) release and reposition the lower lateral cartilage; (6) adequately dissect above the maxillary periosteum; (7) reconstruct the nasal floor by local mucosal flaps; (8) reconstruct the prolabial buccal sulcus with tissue from the prolabium; (9) reconstruct the orbicularis muscle sphincter and attach it to the anterior nasal spine; (10) reconstruct a new Cupid's bow, central vermilion, and lip tubercle with tissue from the lateral lips; (11) balance the height of both lateral lips without any incision around the ala; and (12) maintain the presurgical nasolabial angle. The residual nasal deformity remains a problem that needs further improvement. The long-term result in Chang Gung Craniofacial Center suggests overcorrection of columella height before, during, and after lip repair