Cleft Lip and Cleft Pale Nose

This is the congenital deformity and malfunction observed in the nose, whose clinical treatment can differ depending on the degree of the deformity existing in congenital cleft lip/pale patients.

While some propose that the correction surgery should be made concurrently with lip operation (at 3rd month), there are also those people who suggest that it should be made following the completion of the development of the cartilage. The deformities and malfunctions observed in such cases can be summarized as follows

1. The nose is leaned towards the side with the cleft,
2. The nostril on the side with the cleft is asymmetrical, flattened and small,
3. The nasal septum (cartilage barrier at the midline) is bent and curled towards the side without cleft,
4. The tip of the nose is asymmetrically extended towards the front side,
5. The base (columella) which fell between each of the 2 nostrils and gave an elevation to the nose tip is ptotic,
6. Lip-nose distance shortened, upper lip is thin,
7. On the cleft side, the nose wing has moved downwards,
8. The cheekbone on the same side is thinner and insignificant,
9. Bone structure carrying teeth on the cleft side stands behind, teeth deformities are frequent,
10. Shortness of breath due to septum and bone changes on the cleft side.

With the operation, the asymmetry in the cartilage, which causes to the deformity, is fixed, nostrils are equalized, the nose tip is moved to its normal position, nasal septum is lifted and its deformation, which causes shortness of breath, is fixed, nasal wings and cheekbones are elevated by  placing permanent basis (bones). In most cases 2^nd and 3^rd revision surgeries may be necessary.

The operations are performed under general anesthesia, silicone nose splints are placed for a certain time to ensure symmetry in the nostrils. We can cite Fazıl Say, Justin Timberlake, Stacey Keach and Joaquin Phoenix, among the people who overcame this deformity after successful operations.