Cleft lip: The historical perspective

The earliest documented history of cleft lip is based on a combination of religion, superstition, invention and charlatanism. While Greeks ignored their existence, Spartans and Romans would kill these children as they were considered to harbour evil spirits. When saner senses prevailed Fabricius ab...

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Main Authors: S. Bhattacharya, V. Khanna, R. Kohli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2009-10-01
Series:Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0039-1699370
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author S. Bhattacharya
V. Khanna
R. Kohli
author_facet S. Bhattacharya
V. Khanna
R. Kohli
author_sort S. Bhattacharya
collection DOAJ
description The earliest documented history of cleft lip is based on a combination of religion, superstition, invention and charlatanism. While Greeks ignored their existence, Spartans and Romans would kill these children as they were considered to harbour evil spirits. When saner senses prevailed Fabricius ab Aquapendente (1537–1619) was the first to suggest the embryological basis of these clefts. The knowledge of cleft lip and the surgical correction received a big boost during the period between the Renaissance and the 19th century with the publication of Pierre Franco's Petit Traité and Traité des Hernies in which he described the condition as “lièvre fendu de nativitè” (cleft lip present from birth). The first documented Cleft lip surgery is from China in 390 BC in an 18 year old would be soldier, Wey Young-Chi. Albucasis of Arabia and his fellow surgeons used the cautery instead of the scalpel and Yperman in 1854 recommended scarifying the margins with a scalpel before suturing them with a triangular needle dipped in wax. The repair was reinforced by passing a long needle through the two sides of the lip and fixing the shaft of the needle with a figure-of-eight thread over the lip. Germanicus Mirault can be credited to be the originator of the triangular flap which was later modified by C.W. Tennison in 1952 and Peter Randall in 1959. In the late 50s, Ralph Millard gave us his legendary ‘cut as you go’ technique. The protruding premaxilla of a bilateral cleft lip too has seen many changes throughout the ages OE from being discarded totally to being pushed back by wedge resection of vomer to finally being left to the orthodontists.
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spelling doaj-art-8e4f9f4504634ab5a1c9d7abbffd08f62025-08-20T02:09:40ZengThieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery0970-03581998-376X2009-10-0142S4S810.1055/s-0039-1699370Cleft lip: The historical perspectiveS. Bhattacharya0V. Khanna1R. Kohli2Department of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Sahara India Medical Institute, Lucknow, IndiaDepartment of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Sahara India Medical Institute, Lucknow, IndiaDepartment of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Sahara India Medical Institute, Lucknow, IndiaThe earliest documented history of cleft lip is based on a combination of religion, superstition, invention and charlatanism. While Greeks ignored their existence, Spartans and Romans would kill these children as they were considered to harbour evil spirits. When saner senses prevailed Fabricius ab Aquapendente (1537–1619) was the first to suggest the embryological basis of these clefts. The knowledge of cleft lip and the surgical correction received a big boost during the period between the Renaissance and the 19th century with the publication of Pierre Franco's Petit Traité and Traité des Hernies in which he described the condition as “lièvre fendu de nativitè” (cleft lip present from birth). The first documented Cleft lip surgery is from China in 390 BC in an 18 year old would be soldier, Wey Young-Chi. Albucasis of Arabia and his fellow surgeons used the cautery instead of the scalpel and Yperman in 1854 recommended scarifying the margins with a scalpel before suturing them with a triangular needle dipped in wax. The repair was reinforced by passing a long needle through the two sides of the lip and fixing the shaft of the needle with a figure-of-eight thread over the lip. Germanicus Mirault can be credited to be the originator of the triangular flap which was later modified by C.W. Tennison in 1952 and Peter Randall in 1959. In the late 50s, Ralph Millard gave us his legendary ‘cut as you go’ technique. The protruding premaxilla of a bilateral cleft lip too has seen many changes throughout the ages OE from being discarded totally to being pushed back by wedge resection of vomer to finally being left to the orthodontists.http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0039-1699370cleft lip surgeryhistory of cleft liphistory of premaxilla management
spellingShingle S. Bhattacharya
V. Khanna
R. Kohli
Cleft lip: The historical perspective
Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery
cleft lip surgery
history of cleft lip
history of premaxilla management
title Cleft lip: The historical perspective
title_full Cleft lip: The historical perspective
title_fullStr Cleft lip: The historical perspective
title_full_unstemmed Cleft lip: The historical perspective
title_short Cleft lip: The historical perspective
title_sort cleft lip the historical perspective
topic cleft lip surgery
history of cleft lip
history of premaxilla management
url http://www.thieme-connect.de/DOI/DOI?10.1055/s-0039-1699370
work_keys_str_mv AT sbhattacharya cleftlipthehistoricalperspective
AT vkhanna cleftlipthehistoricalperspective
AT rkohli cleftlipthehistoricalperspective