Surgical correction of a cupid's bow using a double Z-plasty: Report of a case

Ryu, Sun Youl; Seo, Il Young

Abstract

Cupid's bow, upper lip, columella, and ala of nose are esthetically important, in which their symmetrical plasties determine success or failure of the surgery in cleft lip and palate patients. Z-palsty and its modifications are simple and effective. The double Z-plasty is economical in surgical time and esthetics in reconstructing the cupid's bow compared with other methods. We report a 29-year-old male patient who represented reversed cupid's bow and whistle deformity after the primary repair of the cleft lip. He was corrected the cupid's bow using a double Z-plasty. The reversed cupid's bow was corrected to a normal shape and the whistle deformity disappeared. The tightness of the upper lip was relieved after the operation. The double Z-plasty was esthetically successful because the procedure was limited in the vermilion and did not produce a new scar on the skin. Furthermore, the lip tubercle became protuberant. The cupid's bow was symmetrically smoothly curved at 4 years after the operation. These results indicate that the double Z-plasty is simple, less traumatic to the surrounding tissues, and suitable for the correction of whistle deformity.