Unusual presentation of unrepaired cleft lip in a fifty years old Saudi lady

摘要

Unrepaired facial clefts are rare. within the literature, only a few articles reported and discussed unrepaired clefts in an advanced age group. Moreover, there are no reported cases in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries. Illiteracy, limited access to healthcare along with low socioeconomic status are believed to be the reason for late presentation for cleft repair. This case report represents a unique case of a fifty-two years old Saudi lady who came from a rural village in Saudi Arabia with an unoperated bilateral complete cleft lip.Interestingly, this facial defect didn't prevent the patient from living, socializing, getting married, and having children. In fact, our patient was accepted with her facial appearance in her local community. Dealing with unoperated cleft in adult patient is extremely uncommon practice so the surgical feeling and tissue handling is quite different than pediatric; the cleft gap in adult is wider, and the tissues are bulkier and stiffer which may necessitate extensive soft-tissue dissection. This could explain the complexity of the procedure and the prolonged operation time; however, this did not affect the final outcome. Although the case was challenging but the result is satisfactory.