(Pediatrics in Review. 1997;18:101-102.)
© 1997 American Academy of Pediatrics
Repair of Lip Lacerations
Linda S. Parlin, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor of Surgery*
*
University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry Rochester, NY
Lacerations of the lip are a common injury seen in a pediatrician's office.
Obtaining an optimal long-term result depends on following basic surgical
principles of wound repair. When repairing a lip laceration, the goal is to
have what surgeons call a "tidy wound," that is, a wound that has
minimal associated tissue damage. Areas of devitalized or crushed tissue
will have an increased inflammatory response, which will result in increased
scar formation. The nature of the injury is the most important determinant
of this. A sharp injury will result in minimal tissue damage outside the
immediate zone of injury; a blunt or crushing injury will result in a much
larger zone of injury to the tissues, even if the length of the laceration
is the same. Gentle handling of the tissue is important, particularly in a
laceration that has irregular margins or multiple or stellate flaps because
any additional injury produced by crushing with forceps or instruments can
lead to increased scarring.
Lip Anatomy
The first step in the evaluation of
lip laceration is to determine the extent of . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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Copyright © 1997 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
