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Poster Award

287 Views

Cleft & Craniofacial Surgery

(11) Long-Term Aesthetic and Functional Outcomes of Early Cleft Lip Repair: A Retrospective Analysis of 133 Patients

Thursday, September 18, 2025

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM EDT

Poster Presenter(s)

Raina K. Patel, BS (she/her/hers)

Medical Student
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States

Co-Author(s)

Valeria Mejia, BS (she/her/hers)

Student
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
North Hollywood, California, United States
Melanie Bakovic, BS

Student
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
North Potomac, Maryland, United States
Asli Pekcan, BS (she/her/hers)

Student
Keck School of Medicine of USC
Los Angeles, California, United States
MT

Marvee Turk, MD, MPH

Resident
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States
AV

Alyssa B. Valenti, MD

Fellow
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States
WM

William P. Magee, III, DDS, MD

Attending
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States
MU

Mark M. Urata, DDS, MD

Attending
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States
Jeffrey A. Hammoudeh, DDS, MD

Attending
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California, United States

Disclosure(s):

Raina K. Patel, BS: No financial relationships to disclose

Valeria Mejia, BS: No financial relationships to disclose

Melanie Bakovic, BS: No financial relationships to disclose

Asli Pekcan, BS: No financial relationships to disclose

Abstract:

Background: Early cleft lip repair (ECLR) leverages the natural plasticity of neonates from maternal estrogen to reshape the cleft and nose. Our institution has demonstrated short-term aesthetic and functional success in 300 patients, but long-term results remain unexplored. This study evaluates the long-term outcomes of ECLR.

Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of nonsyndromic patients with unilateral cleft lip±palate (UCL/P) undergoing lip repair before three months of age from 2015-2024. Patients were excluded if they had less than 5 years of follow-up. Demographic, preoperative, and postoperative data were collected, along with anthropometric measurements from frontal and basal images.

Results: Of the 133 patients who met inclusion criteria, 57 had suitable images for analysis. The mean gestational age at surgery was 37 ± 18.4 days, and mean follow-up time was 7.3 ± 1.3 years. Comparing preoperative to postoperative ratios, ECLR demonstrated significant improvements in commissure length (P < .001), nostril breadth (P < .001), and nostril width (P < .001). Compared to traditional lip repair with nasoalveolar molding (TLR+NAM), the ECLR cohort had a similar cleft width ratio (0.49 vs 0.42; P = .41), while showing equivalent improvements in medial lip height (P = 0.79), lateral lip height (P = .21), and lateral lip length (P = .74).

Conclusion: Early cleft lip repair (ECLR) enhances aesthetic outcomes while maintaining similar cleft width ratios compared to traditional repair (TLR+NAM). These results underscore the long-term benefits of ECLR as a superior approach for managing unilateral cleft lip and palate.