To the Lip and Beyond: A Case Report of a Midline Tessier 30 Cleft

Abstract

Tessier clefts, otherwise known as craniofacial clefts, are extremely rare congenital malformations with an incidence between 1.4 and 4.9 per 100,000 live births, and have adverse functional, psychological, and aesthetic effects on patient’s life.1 In 1976, the French plastic surgeon Sir Paul Tessier classified a nonunion of the bony mandibular symphysis, adherence of the tongue to the midline floor of mouth and median clefting of the soft tissues of the lower lip as principle features of one subtype, the median mandibular cleft (designated Tessier 30).2 Couronne in 1819 was the first to document an actual case and there are only 69 cases reported worldwide to date.3 To the best of our knowledge based on a search of HERDIN Plus, the ASEAN Citation Index, the Global Index Medicus Western Pacific Region Index Medicus