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Background and Design.- Shallow upper buccal sulcus deformity, one of the secondary deformities after cleft lip-palate repair, causes both aesthetic and functional problems. This deformity also avoids or hardens orthodontic and prostodontic procedures. Upper buccal sulcus deepening procedure was performed in 14 patients for the last 5 years. In 12 cases premaxilla based mucosal flaps were combined either with lip repair, Abbé flap or bilateral buccal mucosal advancement flaps, and in 2 cases buccal mucosal graft that was applied to the premaxilla was combined with bilateral buccal mucosal advancement flaps.
Results.- The follow-up period was 2 to 5 years. Results were satisfactory both for the surgeon, orthodontist, prostodontist and the patient.
Conclusion.- Upper buccal sulcus reconstruction with premaxillary thin mucosal flap or full-thickness mucosal graft combined with tissue sparing techniques provide successful and durable results.