Objective: A 13-day-old girl with a left transverse facial cleft and a medi
an defect of the lower jaw is reported in detail. Left macrostomia was repa
ired using a W-plasty technique, and preauricular appendages were excised.
The median defect of the mandible demonstrated by computed tomography scan
on the first examination had disappeared at 1 year of age.
Conclusion: Congenital clefts of the mandible can fuse at a later stage; th
us, it is necessary to wait to treat the mandibular defect until the infant
is slightly older.