Is Botulinum toxin type A effective for treating and preventing cleft lip scarring? Study provides insights

China: Botulinum toxin type A (BTXA) can show better results in preventing and treating postoperative cleft lip and/or palate (CL/P) scar hypertrophy, according to new research in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. 

"We found no statistically significant difference between the findings after committing Chang's study or Navarro's study because of the injection time -- before/during surgery or adult CL/P scars," Junjie Chen, Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, and colleagues wrote in their study. 

Cleft lip and/or palate are congenital cleft facial deformities that are abnormal developments that result from the errors in the fusion process of the embryo's face. Surgery is an important treatment but postoperative scars will impact the patients' psychological health. 

Against the above background, the team aimed to systematically evaluate the efficacy of BTXA in preventing and treating postoperative CL/P scars and improving scar quality. 

For this purpose, the researchers performed a systematic review by searching the online databases for relevant trials. All relevant trials were performed before June 30, 2021. Data entry was done into Revman 5.3 software, and a random-effects model or fixed-effects model was used for conducting a meta-analysis.