Median Facial Dysplasia in Cleft Lip and Palate

ABSTRACT

The term median facial dysplasia was first reported by Noordhoff and Cheng to describe a subgroup in the cleft lip and palate patients exhibiting the following characteristic facial defects; lack of Cupid's bow, short prolabium, absence of the labial frenulum and columella, poorly developed premaxilla, absent upper central and lateral incisor of the cleft side, and deficient septal cartilage and nasal spine. But gross brain anomalies were usually absent. From May 1998 to February 2002, four cleft lip and palate patients at the Asan Medical Center were diagnosed as median facial dysplasia. Lip was repaired at 3 months of age and palate was repaired at 1 year of age. All patients showed significant midface disturbances during the follow-up period. We report 4 cases of median facial dysplasia who showed severe midface growth disturbances.