The nasal alar elevator: A new device that may reduce the need for primary operation of the nose in patients with cleft lip

To improve the shape of the cleft lip nose preoperatively, we have developed the nasal alar elevator. This has been used routinely since 1996 on all our cleft lip patients who have an asymmetrical nose, from the first week after birth until the date of primary lip surgery. We present our 11-year-long experience of using the device on patients born with complete, unilateral cleft lip. In this study 56 children, born between 1996 and 2006 inclusive, with complete unilateral cleft lip, had preoperative treatment with the elevator. During this 11-year period, continuous evaluation during the preoperative period, and its effects on the cleft lip nose, were evaluated, both preoperatively and postoperatively. Our results show that the preoperative use of the device has led to less need for primary nasal surgery. Instead of having to have a primary rhinoplasty (McComb) together with a lip plasty, as a routine, now only about 30% of the patients need primary surgical correction of the nose. If nasal correction is needed, a rather limited undermining of skin over the ala on the cleft side will often be sufficient. The use of a nasal elevator reduces both the length and the extent of the primary intervention, without compromising the final result.