Non-Surgical Interventions for Reducing Cleft Lip Scars: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

ObjectiveCleft lip scars can significantly impact patients' facial esthetics and psychological well-being. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of various non-surgical interventions in reducing cleft lip scars.MethodsA systematic search was performed across PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases up to May 21, 2024. Inclusion criteria encompassed human studies with cohort or randomized controlled trial (RCT) designs that assessed non-surgical interventions for reducing cleft lip scarring following surgery. Articles in any language, regardless of publication date, were considered. Eligible studies underwent quality assessment, and data were extracted for an inverse variance random-effects meta-analysis.ResultsOf 1664 initially identified articles, 14 met the inclusion criteria for review, with 8 included in the meta-analysis. The reviewed studies primarily focused on botulinum toxin type A (BTA) and laser treatments as non-surgical approaches. Meta-analysis revealed significant improvement in scar appearance with laser therapy (P < .001) but not with BTA (P = .15) when the assessment was conducted by the Vancouver scar scale (VSS). BTA also had no significant effect on scar width reduction (P > .05), but improved scar appearance based on the subjective visual analogue scale (VAS) assessment (P < .001).ConclusionsBased on the VSS index, laser therapy improved scar appearance more effectively than BTA. However, BTA enhanced esthetics as measured subjectively by VAS. These findings support non-surgical interventions as a viable approach for managing cleft lip scars.