Rotation and advancement flap of the cheek in the treatment of rare craniofacial clefts

The treatment of Tessier no. 3 and no. 4 clefts is controversial, and little is published because of their rarity. Frequently, many surgeries are necessary for correction of these defects, and in some cases, the outcomes are less than the ideal. Aware of that problem, we developed a procedure based on the Van der Meulen rotation and advancement flap of the cheek that may correct the cleft with 1 simple procedure and also respects the aesthetic units of the face. We report 3 patients presenting cleft no. 3 and 1 patient presenting cleft no. 4 and describe the rotation and advancement flap of the cheek technique used in their treatment.