Historia leczenia rozszczepów wargi

The cleft lip and palate require a multidisciplinary and multi-step approach. The accounts of these defects can be found in texts from ancient times, which confirms their presence from the beginning of mankind. The nomenclature and methods of comprehensive treatment of cleft defects have changed over the centuries. This paper describes the evolution of the surgical approach towards these extremely complex cases. The main part of this work is based on a timeless and unprecedented in other fields of plastic surgery monograph of one of the greatest authorities in the field – Ralph Millard. In three large volumes, he describes the history of cleft lip treatment from the earliest to his contemporary times with important details crucial for understanding the subject. Other authors quoted in this paper help to objectify the medical and historical approach to the difficult topic of cleft defects.