Cleft Lip Repair

Abstract

Understanding the anatomy and surgical technique for repair of the unilateral and bilateral cleft lip remain essential to the practice of plastic surgery. This chapter summarizes the relevant anatomy, clinical evaluation, surgical technique, and postoperative care of the cleft lip patient. Step-by-step surgical descriptions and illustrations are provided along with commentary regarding common pitfalls encountered with these techniques. The surgical techniques described are a modified Millard rotation advancement technique for repair of the unilateral cleft lip and a modified Byrd repair for correction of the bilateral cleft lip.