Modern Plastic Surgery, 2016, 6, 27-32
http://www.scirp.org/journal/mps
ISSN Online: 2164-5280
ISSN Print: 2164-5213
DOI: 10.4236/mps.2016.64005 September 29, 2016
Adult Cleft Lip Repair under Local Anaesthesia:
The Ghana Experience
Solomon Obiri-Yeboah
1,2
, Micheal Yeliborah
1
, Alexander Oti Acheampong
1,2
, Samuel Kodjo Ansah
1
,
John H. Grant
3
, Peter Donkor
1,2
1
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
2
Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana
3
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Alabama Children’s Hospital, Birmingham, AL, USA
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. Re-
sults: 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 low-
est 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.
Keywords
Adult, Adolescent, Cleft Lip, Local Anaesthesia
1. Background
Cleft lip and palate is among the most common congenital malformations with com-
plex multifactorial etiology including both genetic and environmental factors [1].
Although numerous techniques and protocols are employed in the repair of this
condition, the surgical literature is consistent in recommending early repair, typically
How to cite this paper: Obiri-Yeboah, S.,
Yeliborah, M., Acheampong, A.O., Ansah,
S.K., Grant, J.H. and Donkor, P. (2016) Adult
Cleft Lip Repair under Local Anaesthesia:
The Ghana Experience. Modern Plastic Sur-
gery, 6, 27-32.
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/mps.2016.64005
Received: August 30, 2016
Accepted: September 26, 2016
Published: September 29, 2016
Copyright © 2016 by authors and
Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution International
License (CC BY 4.0).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Open Access