Anatomy research of nasolabial muscle structure in fetus with cleft lip: an iodine staining technique based on microcomputed tomography.

A thorough knowledge of the anatomic structure of the orbicularis oris of the upper lip and the nasalis in fetus with cleft lip is the key for the success of cleft lip repair. To understand the anatomic structure of the muscles of nasolabial region in fetus with cleft lip, the nasolabial tissues in 4 aborted fetuses with cleft lip were soaked for 7 days with iodine solution (Lugol solution of 3.75%) and were given micro-computed tomography. After the iodine solution permeated into the soft tissues, a good contrast was showed between muscle fibers and other fibrillar connective tissues. Through the observation of the obtained images, we found that most orbicularis oris fibers gathered into bundles with clear outline and only had slight deformation and displacement on the health side of the cleft of the unilateral incomplete cleft lip; however, in the lateral cleft, the muscle fibers not only had deformation and displacement but also were immature, disorganized, and not gathered into bundles. After being restored in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine format, the obtained images were then transferred into Materialise's interactive medical image control system, edited, and reconstructed into three-dimensional models. The models clearly showed the spatial relationship between the muscular tissues of the nasolabial region and the nasolabial outline in fetus with cleft lip.