Usefulness of Microfat Grafting in Patients With Repaired Cleft Lip

In many patients, the volume of the upper lip is deficient after cleft lip repair operation. However, there is no well-established procedure to correct this volume deficiency. In the present study, the authors attempted to increase the overall three-dimensional volume of the upper lip in repaired cleft lip patients with upper lip volume deficiency through autogenous microfat grafting. Thirty patients with upper lip volume deficiency after cleft lip repair underwent fat grafting in the upper lip from November 2007 to March 2015. Among these patients, postoperative outcome was evaluated in 15 patients using 2 methods for the evaluation. One method involved measuring the change in the shape of lips using pre- and postoperative photographs, and the other involved investigating the levels of satisfaction with the surgical results by distributing a scoring questionnaire to patients, doctors, and the general public. The ratio of upper lip protrusion relative to the lower lip increased by 46.71% on average after operation, and the sum of the vermilion heights increased by 31.68% on average. In the survey of satisfaction levels, patients, plastic surgeons, and the general public gave mean scores of 3.80, 3.91, and 4.03, respectively. When volume deficiency of the upper lip is present in repaired cleft lip patients, correction using autogenous microfat grafting is believed to be effective.