Many parents of children with cleft lip are very remorseful because of the birth of a baby with cleft lip, thinking that a phase of surgery can make the baby return to normal, but did not expect that after the first phase of surgery there was a deformity of the lips and nose, parents are very anxious, worried that secondary lip and nose deformities will affect the children's school opportunities and mental health.
Children with cleft lip/cleft lip and palate are generally corrected by surgery within the age of 1 year, otherwise it is difficult for children to eat and may affect language function.
Due to problems such as the design, operation and suture of the first stage of surgery, the nasolabial muscles have not been completely repaired, the orbicularis orbicularis muscle rings are still broken, and in the process of children's growth and development, the muscle tension bands are misaligned, and the malformations of the lips and nose will continue to increase. Secondary lip and nose deformities mainly include loss of red lip tissue on the affected side, discontinuous lip margins, low and flat nose tips, skewed nasal columns, collapsed nasal wings, asymmetrical nostrils, and obvious lip scars.
For lip deformities, such as the loss of red lip tissue, the child can be operated on once before going to school. Five or six years old is the initial period of the child's aesthetic concept, but also the child realizes that his appearance is different from others, the purpose of this operation is to restore the child's lips to a normal, symmetrical anatomical form, to avoid inferiority psychology and mental health due to abnormal appearance.
Before the end of puberty, the nose will continue to develop, and the nasal cartilage on the affected side is abnormally pulled by the orbicularis orbicularis muscle on the affected side, and there is a tendency to develop outward, so that the nasal wing cartilage collapses, the nostrils on the affected side are extended, the nasal column is deflected, and the entire nose shape is flattened and crooked. Around the age of 16, nose surgery can be performed, and if there is still a deformity in the lips, it is also possible to repair the lip deformity and restore the normal shape of the nose and lips.
Whether it is 5-6 years old with secondary lip deformity, or 16 years old with secondary nasal deformity, because children at this stage are in the growth period, individual function is better, and it is also the best period of recovery.
The choice of the timing of the second stage of surgery should ensure that the nasolabial area will not be deformed due to developmental problems, and after two or three repair surgeries, the patient can basically look similar to normal people in appearance. Of course, postoperative wound management is essential, whether it is a parent or a patient himself, before and after surgery, you should also maintain an optimistic attitude, but too anxious, the most important thing is not to feel self-blame and inferiority because of congenital defects. Now that medical technology is advancing, all problems will be solved.
Finally, we must find a professional doctor to do surgery, oh, the effect of surgery can be guaranteed.