The cleft lip lower-lip deformity

A patient with a repaired upper lip cleft may acquire a deformity in the lower lip. Records of 63 cleft lip patients who exhibited lower-lip abnormalities were analyzed in order to characterize the soft-tissue and skeletal configuration. The typical deformity was a hypertrophied, superiorly displaced, and anteriorly rotated lower lip. Skeletal analysis of the mandible revealed a variable and inconsistent degree of vertical elongation with posterior displacement of the chin. Operative correction of the cleft lip lower-lip deformity required evaluation of both the soft-tissue and skeletal abnormalities. Soft-tissue procedures gave permanent correction, provided there was a normal maxillary-mandibular relationship. Skeletal correction alone did not completely rectify the abnormal lower-lip posture.