Primary correction of the unilateral cleft lip nose

The details of surgical techniques for primary correction of the unilateral cleft lip nose and their results for 45 cases are reported. The technique employed an infracartilaginous incision on the affected side, thus allowing direct suturing of the alar cartilage onto the lateral cartilage. For the post-operative evaluation, the nasal form in both frontal and bottom views was scored for five items. In overall evaluation, the grades of "Good," "Fair," and "Poor" were derived from the total scores of five items. In the postoperative results (range of follow-up: 24 months to 84 months), 24 cases were rated "Good" (53.3%), 13 cases "Fair" (28.9%), and 8 cases "Poor" (17.8%). Thirty cases appear not to need secondary correction (66.6%). The technique is useful because the alar cartilages and lateral cartilages can be accurately sutured, and relatively stable results can be obtained.