A new incision for unilateral cleft lip repair developed using animated simulation of repair on computer

Background: Unilateral cleft lip repair continues to leave behind some amount of dissatisfaction, as a scope for further improvement is always felt. Most surgeons do not like to deviate from the standard Millard's/ triangular techniques, or their minor modifications, as no one likes to experiment on the face for fear of unfavourable outcomes. The computer can be utilized as a useful tool in the analysis and planning of surgery and new methods can be developed and attempted subsequently with greater confidence.
Aim: We decided to see if an improved lip repair could be developed with the use of computers.
Materials and Methods: Analysis of previous lip repairs was done to determine where an improvement was required. Movement of tissues, by simulating an ideal repair, using image warping software, on digital images of cleft lip was studied in animation sequences. A repair which could reproduce these movements was planned. A new incision emerged, which had combined the principles of Millard's and Randall / Tennyson repairs, with additional features. The new method was performed on 30 cases.
Conclusions: The results were encouraging as the shortcomings of these methods were minimized, and the advantages maximized.