Unilateral cleft lip repair during charity missions: a consideration about simultaneously lip and nose repair

Aim. Cleft nose is an important sequela after primary cheiloplasty in cleft lip patients. Not touching the cleft lip nose in primary cleft lip repair was dogmatic in the past, although it meant severe functional, aesthetic, and psychologic problems for the child. Authors present their experience in one step lip, septum and nasal tip repair for this patients population. Methods. From March 2012 to January 2013, during charity missions organized in Africa, 56 patients affected by cleft lip deformity and sequelas of previous cleft lip surgery were operated. Results. Two complications were recorded. A good nostril symmetry was reached in all the cases. Conclusion. Authors present their experience in one step lip, septum and nasal tip repair for unilateral cleft lip patients. The big lack of this study is the absence of a long follow-up due to the surgery performed during charity missions. Thanks to the recent papers published in literature we can state that primary septal repositioning is a safe adjunctive technique to primary lip closure, although this operation reduces the psychosocial consequences of an otherwise uncorrected cleft nose deformity, it does not necessarily eliminate the need for a future operation.