Surgical repair of the isolated incomplete median cleft lip

Abstract Median cleft lip refers to a vertical cleft on the midline of the upper lip. It is a rare congenital craniofacial anomaly brought about by a fusion failure in the medial nasal prominence. A novel surgical approach to median cleft lips and their repair is reported herein, with reference to a clinical case. The patient had a cleft in the lower half of the upper lip. There were no other craniofacial anomalies in this patient other than the cleft. Within the framework of the patient's surgical treatment, a functional and cosmetically satisfactory result was achieved by performing a V–Y advancement flap on the columella base, Z-plasty in the vermillion zone, and Z pattern muscular tissue repair, without having to resort to any tissue excisions.