The Nasal Lift Technique in Primary Cleft Lip Surgery

Whether it is a unilateral or bilateral cleft lip, the nose tends to act as a collapsing pyramid with a tilt in case of the former. This gives the nose a tethered and flattened look with varying degrees of asymmetries. No matter how aggressive soft tissue manipulations are made to the tip and columella, we believe unless the nose is lifted and secured to a stable structure, the correction is inadequate. Here, we are describing our approach. Initially closed nasal correction is considered utilizing method described by Mulliken. This is followed by lifting the entire cartilaginous framework with a suture being looped around tip cartilages and secured into the periosteum of the nasal bones in a "Cantilever" fashion.