Current surgical techniques for cleft lip-palate in Minas Gerais, Brazil

Summary Cleft lip and palate (CL/P) are the most common congenital anomalies of the craniofacial region. Aim to evaluate the surgical techniques used in CL/P treatment in a craniofacial deformities ward, in Minas Gerais. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, carried out between 2002 and 2007, we studied 109 individuals with non-syndromic CL/P submitted to treatment. The aspects analyzed (personal identification, classification of CL/P and surgical treatment performed) were obtained from patient charts, and then we built a database and ran statistical analyses through the SPSS 13.0 software. Followed by descriptive analysis of the surgical procedures depending on the type of CL/P found. Results Among the 109 patients, 65.1% were males and 34.8% females. We found that 45% of patients had cleft lip and palate, 37.6% cleft lip only and 17.4% cleft palate only. The surgical techniques employed were predominantly those from Millard and Spina for cheiloplasty, McComb for rhinoplasty and, Veau and Van Langenbeeck for palatoplasty. Conclusions This study is the first to address treatment procedures for individuals with CL/P in the state of Minas Gerais. For unilateral CL/P we predominantly used the association of McComb, Veau and Millard techniques, respectively, for rhinoplasty, palatoplasty and cheiloplasty, in 76.9% of the patients.