[Primary treatment of cleft lip and palate. Its fundamental principles]. / Traitement primaire des fentes labio-palatines. Ses grands principes.

If the multiplicity of functional protocols of cleft lip and palate treatment has been bewildering, it is now a source of learning. The lessons we can draw from them assist us to choose the best age for the primary surgery and a chronology that prevents the palate from the worst scaring. Eventually, with 18 years of follow-up, the best functional achievement comes unexpectedly from an ambitious primary rhinoplasty that had till now been condemned. Not only do the patients have good appearance and social integration, but the nasal mode of breathing established at the time of the primary surgery favors a good facial growth without any compromise. Reciprocally, all the interacting functions benefit from a nasal ventilation.

[Nasal sequels of unilateral clefts: analysis and management]. / Les séquelles nasales des fentes unilatérales: analyse et prise en charge.

Usually, the nasal sequels of unilateral cleft patient are just considered as an esthetic problem to be addressed after the growth spurt of adolescence. This very narrow vision has led the cleft lip and palate treatment to a deadend. Actually, nasal sequels are the worst in terms of consequence on facial growth. 75% of complete unilateral cleft children are more oral than nasal breathers. Today, we know about the bad consequences of oral breathing on facial growth. It is not surprising to observe a high rate of small maxilla with cleft maxilla scars. In the fetus, the unilateral cleft nose deformities are well explained by the rupture of the facial envelope and the ventilatory dynamics of the amniotic fluid. Every step of the primary treatment threatens the nasal air way patency, whether when repairing lip and nose, suturing the hard palate that is the floor of the nose, or closing the alveolar cleft which controls the width of the piriform aperture. The functional and esthetic nasal sequels reflect the initial deformity, but are also the surgeon's skill and protocol choice. Before undertaking treatment, we must analyze the deformity at every level. Usually, the best option is to reopen the cleft completely to perform a combined revision of the lip, nose, and alveolar cleft after an adequate anterior maxillary expansion. If nasal breathing is necessary for an adequate facial growth, 25 years of experience showed us that it was very difficult to erase the cortical imprint of an early oral breathing pattern. So it is essential to establish a normal nasal breathing mode at the initial surgery. When the initial surgery is efficient and/or the secondary repair is successful, the final esthetic rhinoplasty, when indicated, is just performed for the sake of harmonization, with a classic internal approach and a few refinements.

[A functional approach in the primary treatment of labial-alveolar-velopalatine clefts for a minimum of sequels]. / Une approche fonctionnelle lors du traitement primaire des fentes labioalvéolopalatovélaires pour le minimum de séquelles.

Is the poor potential of growth an ineluctable consequence of mesodermal deficiency? Should we agree with the idea that all protocols are equivalent? Actually, these opinions reflect the empiricism of previous generations. We must now become rational and develop a project without compromise to achieve good functions at primary surgery. 'The normal structures are present on either side of the cleft, only modified by the fact of the cleft...' Victor Veau's hypothesis is the conclusion of rigorous anatomical and embryological research. Our current knowledge of the pathological anatomy allows for a better restoration of the normal anatomy. Anatomy is nothing if it is not functional. Every thing should be done to control the healing process to allow the best expression and interaction of the various functions, especially for those concerning nasal ventilation and masticatory efficiency. To correct the deformity, the cleft surgeon must perform a wide subperiosteal and subperichondrial elevation and must learn the skills of this accurate work to preserve the integrity of very fragile structures. The primary treatment must take into account a rational and uncompromising selection of the age of the first operation, of the successive procedures, and their chronology to benefit from the growth spurt of the maxilla, and to avoid the worse scars resulting from secondary epithelialization. Finally, if nasal breathing is the most important function concerning facial growth, it is essential to restore this normal function at the time of the first operation. The oral breathing pattern set at the time of the first operation leaves a cortical imprint that is very difficult to erase, even after clearing the nasal airways. The results of the functional approach we have used in the last decade are particularly consistent and very convincing. In this ambitious and demanding program, the patient comes first; we decrease the burden for him and his family, and give them the benefit of a good social life before school age.