Rare craniofacial cleft in a dark-skinned African population

BACKGROUND: Craniofacial clefts are congenital anomalies which pose a management challenge to cleft surgeons, especially in developing countries. The aim of this study is to share our experience regarding the management of these atypical facial clefts. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This prospective study was carried out from May 2009 to May 2014 at Federal Medical Centre, Nguru, Nigeria. Diagnosis was based on clinical examination and Tessier classification was used to describe these clefts. RESULTS: A total of seven patients with rare facial clefts were seen. There were four cases of midline clefts, two cases of bilateral clefts, and one case of multiple facial clefts. All cases were surgically treated, except one case of premaxillary agenesis type holoprosencephaly. CONCLUSION: To achieve an optimal management of patients with rare facial cleft, a well-equipped craniofacial center must be established which is still lacking in low-resource centers