Scar management in patients after cleft lip repair-Systematic review Cleft lip scar management

Background Cleft lip is a commonly occurring congenital development defect. Primary cleft lip repair leads to cleft scar formation. The resulting scar often undergoes hypertrophy, which negatively affects facial esthetics, function, and the patient's mental health. Aims The systematic review presented here was carried out to answer the following question: What cleft lip scar management options exist and how effective are they? Methods The systematic review of the articles on scar management methods in cleft lip patients was done in accordance with the PRISMA checklist. The literature search was conducted via the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Results A total of 95 items were obtained. Finally, nine works have been included in the systematic review. Among the obtained works, there is a variety of cleft lip scar management methods. All the presented methods of cleft lip scar management proved to be effective in cleft scar therapy. Conclusions Cleft lip scar management should be considered as a constant and mandatory element of the treatment plan in cleft patients. It is also worth considering creating detailed protocols of conduct for cases of cleft lip scaring which pay attention to existing needs, prevention/correction and problems of superficiality and depth.