Occult cleft lip is generally a mild cleft lip without obvious clefting of the lip skin, manifested by red cut marks on the upper lip, uneven lip arches, and striated white lip skin protrusion. It is accompanied by nostril asymmetry, transverse nostril placement or nasal collapse on the affected side. Although the external manifestations of occult cleft lip are not obvious, its direct etiology is lip orbicularis oris muscle dysplasia, rupture and displacement. Due to. During development, the altered tension of the lip tissues may become increasingly obvious in appearance due to the loss of normal muscle antagonistic forces, thus requiring prompt repair.
Can recessive cleft lip be repaired to the point of being completely invisible?
Patients with a recessive cleft lip do not look obvious from the outside. Therefore, many parents have high expectations and hope that the repair will be perfect. But in essence the pathological basis of recessive cleft lip is the breakage and displacement of the orbicularis oris muscle. The repair is not as easy as one might think. To use an analogy, it is like a house with a damaged frame structure that has been renovated and looks passable, but the underlying problem is serious. If the main frame is ignored for the sake of the exterior renovation, the problem will get worse and the renovation will not support it for a few days.
In order to repair the orbicularis oris, an incision needs to be made to access the deeper tissues. In the past, the routine practice was to use the surgical method of obvious cleft lip, to reposition and combine the muscles and skin. Such an approach would leave a visible scar on the white lip, giving the impression that it would be better to do it than not to do it at all.
We take a minimally invasive internal access procedure that avoids white lip scarring and repairs the root cause of the occult cleft lip by subtle peeling to reveal and realign the muscle tissue. Such a procedure is minimally invasive, effective, with inconspicuous scarring, and allows the development of the labial and nasal structures to be put on a normal course, normalizing the local structure. However, there is by no means a guarantee that the patient will achieve complete normalcy. Local tissue swelling and secondary deformities may still require further surgical adjustments years later.
How long does the swelling period last after recessive cleft lip surgery?
Like regular cleft lip surgery, recessive cleft lip involves a three-dimensional directional reconstruction of the lip and nasal muscles. There is usually a swelling period of 2-3 months after surgery, and in some cases up to 6 months. After six months, the patient will obtain a relatively stable shape. In the early stage, localized swelling and discomfort and lack of softness of the lip tissue are very common. It will gradually improve with time. Red lip mucosal hyperplasia is a common postoperative condition, and lip rejuvenation can usually be done after six months.