Clincal Experience of the Median Mandibular Facial Cleft

ABSTRACT

A median mandibular facial cleft(Tessier 30) is a rare congenital anomaly. It was first described by Couronne' in 1819, and classified by Tessier as a type 30 craniofacial cleft in 1976. Recently, Oostrom et al have reported a new embryologic hypothesis and subdivision. They reported that the hypoplasia of the mandibular processes during the early embryonic period will lead to the severest cleft of mandible which extends into the neck, whereas during the late embryonic period, the less severe median cleft will develop. The authors have experienced one case of the median cleft of the lower lip and mandible with associated bifid tongue and ankyloglossia. And the double inlet single ventricle at heart lesion was also present. She was operated at 3 month of age. Our procedure consisted of a one-stage correction of the clefts of the lip, tongue, and mandible(repair a cleft of lower lip using w-plasty and a cleft of mandible by manual reduction and internal fixation with 6-hole plate and screws).