TITLE:
Adult Cleft Lip Repair under Local Anaesthesia: The Ghana Experience
AUTHORS:
Solomon Obiri-Yeboah, Micheal Yeliborah, Alexander Oti Acheampong, Samuel Kodjo Ansah, John H. Grant, Peter Donkor
KEYWORDS:
Adult, Adolescent, Cleft Lip, Local Anaesthesia
JOURNAL NAME:
Modern Plastic Surgery,
Vol.6 No.4,
September
29,
2016
ABSTRACT: Background: Unlike developed countries
where adult primary cleft lip and palate cases are barely nonexistent,
developing countries still have a backlog of adults with unrepaired cleft lip
and palate. Method: A retrospective review of
adult/adolescent cleft lip repair under local anesthesia was performed between
2012 and 2015. Results: Fifty six (56) adolescent and adults were seen comprising 35 females and 21
males. Forty two patients presented with unrepaired unilateral
cleft lip of which only 6 were complete; 4 were unrepaired bilateral cleft lip
and 10 were revisions. The lowest age was 13 years (two patients) and the
highest age was 66 years (one patient). The mean weight was 54 kg. The mean anaesthetic time including waiting time was 12.94 minutes
and mean operation time was 56.52 minutes. Majority of the patients were
discharged same day except for five who needed to stay overnight because of
distance from their home. There were no reported early postoperative
complications and wound healing was uneventful for all the patients. Conclusion: Cleft lip repair in adults under local anesthesia is
safe, effective and less expensive. A modification in technique with minimal
dissection and efficiency is essential in such cases.