The split-lip advancement technique (SLAT) for the treatment of congenital sinuses of the lower lip.

In this paper we present 7 cases of Van der Woude syndrome and describe a new surgical technique for the treatment of congenital sinuses of the lower lip. Our technique is essentially a new modification of the elastic lip flap technique of Goldstein. We term this procedure the split-lip advancement technique, in which two opposite labial artery--based flaps including the whole thickness of the vermilion and the mucosal surface of the lip are used to repair the median defect that resulted from excision of the sinuses. To our knowledge, there have been no reports of the use of this technique in the treatment of congenital sinuses of the lower lip.