Revisiting the Boot Flap for Secondary Repair of the Free Border in Cleft Lip.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Deficiency of the free border of the lip and "whistling lip" deformity are encountered in secondary repairs of unilateral and bilateral cleft lip. We have reported the use of the de-epithelialized oral vestibular flap (boot flap) for secondary cleft lip repair. We experienced more cases using this method and analyzed them.

Methods

Fifty-nine patients with a cleft lip underwent secondary repair using this method. In unilateral cases, total scores were determined by evaluating the height of the notch, the volume of the upper lip tubercle, and the upper lip volume of the cleft side. In bilateral cases, total scores were determined by evaluating the height of the notch and the volume of the median lip tubercle.

Results

Of the 46 patients with a unilateral cleft

SUBMITTER: Ueda K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12456503 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature