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Functional Outcomes Of Cleft Lip Surgery. Part I: Study Design And Surgeon Ratings Of Lip Disability And Need For Lip Revision, Carroll-Ann Trotman, Ceib Phillips, Greg K. Essick, Julian J. Faraway, Steven M. Barlow, H. Wolfgang Losken, John Van Aalst, Lyna Rogers

Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders: Faculty Publications

Objective—Children with a cleft of the upper lip exhibit obvious facial disfigurement. Many require multiple lip surgeries for an optimal esthetic result. However, because the decision for lip revision is based on subjective clinical criteria, clinicians may disagree on whether these surgeries should be performed. To establish more reliable, functionally relevant outcome criteria for evaluation and treatment planning, a clinical trial currently is in progress. In this article, the design of the clinical trial is described and results of a study on subjective evaluations of facial form by surgeons for or against the need for lip revision surgery are presented. …