What Is Lip Reconstruction?
Cleft lip is a common congenital deformity of the oral and maxillofacial region, with an incidence of about 1: 1000. Normal fetuses, after the fifth week, begin to gradually merge with each other to form a face, and deformities can occur if they fail to develop normally, including cleft lip.
- nickname
- Bunny lips
- English name
- cleftlip
- Visiting department
- Pediatric Surgery, Plastic Surgery
- Common causes
- May be divided into genetic and environmental factors
- Common symptoms
- Upper lip splitting
Basic Information
Causes of cleft lip
- The exact cause and pathogenesis of developmental and fusion disorders are not yet fully understood. Studies have shown that it may be divided into two aspects: genetic factors and environmental factors, and it is related to nutrition, heredity, infection, and endocrine factors.
- Genetic factor
- Patients with cleft lip may find similar deformities in their immediate or near palate relatives. Therefore, it is believed that cleft lip deformity is related to heredity. Genetic studies also suggest that cleft lip is a polygenic hereditary disease.
- 2. Environmental factors
- In the first three months of pregnancy, when the physiological state of the mother is invaded or disturbed, it may affect the growth and development of the maxillofacial region of the embryo. Such as nutritional deficiencies, infections, drug factors, physical damage and tobacco and alcohol.
Cleft Lip Typing
- 1. Cleft lip can be divided according to the fissure site
- (1) Unilateral cleft lip is divided into incomplete type and complete type.
- (2) Bilateral cleft lip Incomplete type, complete type and mixed type, that is, one side is completely incomplete.
- 2. Divided by the degree of crack
- (1) degree Cleft lip is limited to cracked red lips.
- (2) Degree II The cleft lip is part of the upper lip without cracking to the bottom of the nose. Shallow degree means that the fissure does not exceed 1/2 of the lip height; deep degree means that the fissure exceeds 1/2 of the lip height.
- (3) Degree III: Cleft lip is the upper lip and the nose is completely cracked.
- (4) Laceration refers to the lack of muscle layers, although the skin and mucous membranes are not cracked.
Clinical manifestations of cleft lip
- The main manifestation of cleft lip is cracking of upper lip. It can be divided into three degrees according to the location of the crack and the degree of cracking.
- 1. The cleft lip was only cracked for the first time.
- 2. The second degree is that the fissure exceeds the red lips but does not reach the bottom of the nose.
- 3. The third degree is the fissure from the red lips to the bottom of the nose. The first two are also called incomplete cleft lip, and the last one is also called complete cleft lip.
Cleft Lip Treatment
- Timing of surgery
- It is generally considered that unilateral cleft lip surgery is appropriate in about three to six months, while bilateral cleft lip is slightly delayed. The basic conditions for children to adapt to surgery are: general health, no upper respiratory tract infection, and no infection in local and surrounding tissues.
- 2. Surgical methods for cleft lip repair
- The basic steps of cleft lip repair surgery are fixed-point design, incision, reduction and continuous reconstruction of nasal dehiscence muscles, and skin suture. There are many design methods for fixed points. Different medical centers and different doctors can use different surgical methods according to the specific conditions of cleft lip.
- 3. Post-operative treatment
- (1) The upper lip is fixed with wire lip arch tape for 2 weeks to prevent wound dehiscence and reduce scar healing.
- (2) After pediatric basic anesthesia, the elbow joint is fixed with splint bandage to avoid scratching the wound and reducing the lip arch.
- (3) Gently wipe the lip wound with 3% hydrogen peroxide and iodine to prevent blood rash from affecting the wound healing.
- (4) The stitches are removed in 5-7 days.
- 4. Postoperative sequential treatment
- Although the repair of cleft lip was performed in infants and young children, with the growth and development, deformities of the nose and lips will still appear to varying degrees. This is called secondary deformity after cleft lip, and further plastic surgery is needed before school age. Patients with alveolar bone fractures need bone graft repair at about 12 years of age, and those with secondary jaw deformities need adult orthognathic surgery to further improve facial shape and occlusal function.
Cleft Lip Prevention
- Pregnant women should avoid partial eclipse during pregnancy, ensure adequate intake of vitamins B, C, D and calcium, iron, and phosphorus, maintain peace of mind, avoid mental stress, do not take antitumor drugs, anticonvulsants, histamines, and treat morning sickness Ke Minjing and some sleeping pills, do not smoke or drink, avoid exposure to radiation, microwave and so on.