Transcolumellar incision for correction of unilateral cleft lip nose

Summary The best way I have found to correct the adult cleft lip nose with marked deformity is to expose the cartilaginous framework and re-align it in improved position. The anterior transcolumellar incision combined with the vestibular extensions is effective. It is important that the cleft side alar cartilage be shifted to the desired position, without any tension in the lateral vestibule, such as frequently results from an oro-nasal fistula. If the cartilaginous framework is correctly realigned, the manipulation of the soft tissue at the anterior nostril margin by elliptical excision or rolling the marginal skin into the vestibule to create the new margin is not necessary in the great majority of cases.Presented in part at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Association of Plastic Surgeons on April 6, 1979 in Tokyo