[Animal models for investigating the possibility of cleft lip surgery in utero]

The continuous refinement and further development of prenatal diagnostics and of anesthesiologic as well as operative techniques have rendered fetal surgery a point of major clinical interest. In view of the present clinical results of prenatal surgery in the human fetus, the question arises, if it is wise to include the correction of craniofacial malformations in the indications for intrauterine surgery and thus to allow the qualitative advantages of fetal wound healing patterns to be utilized. In the present experimental study an animal model using rabbits is presented, which allows successful intrauterine surgery of the craniofacial area.