Abstract
Facial clefts are a group of rare transgressional craniomaxillofacial deformities that affect both hard and soft tissues of the face. They often cause severe deformity and are a challenge to all who work with them. Their origin is felt to be at the junction of facial processes and the clefts, often centre around the oral cavity and connect with the nose, eye, maxilla, ear and cranial vault – however, are often partial or incomplete. They are complex three-dimensional dysplasias that vary in severity and extent. They often also present with a malformation of structures within the skin (hair follicles, eyebrows, eyelashes) and the dental arch and can be associated with skin tags and notching of the eyelids or nostril. If these signs present alone, bony clefts should be sought radiographically.
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Walker, T.W.M., Green, B.C., Mills, C., Ayliffe, P. (2019). Facial Clefts. In: Carachi, R., Doss, S. (eds) Clinical Embryology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26158-4_14
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-26158-4_14
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