Transverse facial cleft repair: Preventing pigmentation around the postoperative scar by excising the pigmented white lip at the cleft margin—A retrospective case series of Japanese patients

Numerous transverse facial cleft repair techniques and designs have been described; however, a complication of surgical reconstruction is scar formation with brown discoloration. This study investigated the histological basis of the darker white lip at the cleft margin, its role in postoperative brown discoloration, and the potential esthetic benefits of extending the excision. In this retrospective analysis, patients with transverse facial cleft were divided into limited and extended excision groups. Histological assessment of melanin pigment was performed using Fontana–Masson staining, and postoperative buccal scars were evaluated from photographs using the Stony Brook Scar Evaluation Scale. The Mann–Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis. We divided 16 Japanese patients (4 boys and 12 girls) into limited ( n = 9) and extended excision groups ( n = 7). The cleft length was 8.6 ± 2.1 and 8.9 ± 3.3 mm in the limited and extended excision groups, respectively, with unilateral/bilateral laterality being 9/0 and 6/1, respectively. Initial surgeries for both groups were performed at 11.4 ± 8.4 and 8.3 ± 7.7 months, and scar evaluations were based on photographs obtained at 47.8 ± 13.5 and 27.1 ± 14.2 months, respectively. Histology showed increased melanin in the darker area of the white lip at the cleft margin, with markedly reduced pigment density in the normal-toned area. The extended excision group had less colored scar than the limited excision group ( p < 0.05). Incorporating pericleft pigmentation excision into surgical design may reduce postoperative periscar hyperpigmentation and improve esthetic outcomes for several years.