The ultimate straight line repair for unilateral cleft lips

The straight line repair for unilateral cleft lips developed following the negative long term objective and subjective findings in a group of patients whose defects were repaired using the Millard technique. No revisional surgery had been undertaken. The straight line procedure achieves the aims of a cleft lip repair. These include, an adequate lip length on the cleft side, an inconspicuous scar not crossing anatomical boundaries, and an absence of notching of the vermillion border or peaking of the Cupid's bow on the cleft side. In addition, these aims are fulfilled while retaining an adequate Cupid's bow width in the majority of our patients. This operation is easy to perform, reproducible and achieves excellent results from both an objective and subjective point of view.