37 Yr Old, Would Like Continuing Nostril and Upper Cleft Lip Repair, Is This a Possibility?

Born with bilateral cleft lip and palette,10 surgeries since birth including 3 bone graft attempts. Last graft was semi-successful with bone taken from skull. Also had cartilage taken from ears to revise nose and create more of a tip (very flat before) Q: gaping holes of the nostrils due to having no nostril sill, can this be fixed/created/manufactured in some way or from some other part of me? Also the flatness of upperlip. Can ANYTHING be done about either of these? PS Scared of abbe flap

Tags:

age 35-44 expectation final result

Comment on this

1 Doctor Answer | Asked by fmf74 in Fort Myers, FL

Doctor Answers (1)
Community Comments (0)

Possible, yes...but difficult.

Secondary surgery for cleft lip and nostril deformity tends to become more difficult with each attempt at correction. Scarring can warp the delicate cartilages of the nose and make subsequent revision surgery much more risky. In my practice, initial rhinoplasty for a cleft deformity (unilateral or bilateral) is performed when the patient has reached skeletal maturity (ie, 16-18 years of age). At this point, the risk of a bad result is much less. In some instances, when children have... more