Abstract:

Objective　To explore the vermilion morphological features of a cleft lip, and to provide the evidence for surgery.     Methods   vermilion features of 48 children with cleft lip patients were observed. HE staining was used to observe the organizational structure of dry or wet vermilions.    Results    （1）The thichestvermilion thickness in injured side was (3.48±0.41) mm of Ⅲ degrees unilateral cleft lip, lower than that in Ⅱ degrees（P<0.05）（2）The front lip width of upper part  was significantly smaller than the lower in bilateral cleft and the thickness in the middle of the front lip was larger than that of the left and right sides（P<0.05）.（3）Epithelial spines layer and inherent layer were thin, the capillary was rich, the submucosal layer was with large glands and the muscle layer was relatively dense in dry vermilion; the capillary in lamina propria layer was sparser submucosal glands were smaller in amount and the muscle layer was  loose in wet vermilion.    Conclusion    The vermilion thickness may correlate with the fissure size in unilateral cleft lip; the front lips were different in shape in the left and right sides in bilateral cleft lip; obvious difference in organization structure exists in dry or wet vermilion in cleft lip, suggesting that the operation should be dealt with caution.

Key words:  A cleft lip, Morphological characteristics, Vermilion, Operation design