Roman Bánsky (ed.): Clefts

Dear Editor,

It is with great pleasure that I would like to introduce the second extended edition of the book Clefts. The book was excellently characterized by Prof. Jean Guy Eugène Raymond Delaire, MD, DDS

(20. 6. 1923 – 29. 11. 2022), one of the greatest innovators in the field of cleft lip and palate treatment, whose disciple I consider myself to be. Prof. Delaire wrote over 300 scientific articles and published around eight textbooks. He also served as President and Chairman of many organizations and departments. He was Honorary Fellow of British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons and Canadian Society of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Unfortunately, Prof. Delaire left us in November 2022, at the age of 99.

Let me quote his Introduction to Clefts:

“It was with great pleasure that I read the book Clefts by Roman Bánsky, editor. Indeed, I found there, perfectly explained and illustrated, all the essential anatomical and physiological data on which the surgeon must base himself to operate on his young patients and obtain the best immediate and long-term post-operative results. During initial closure operations, most contemporary paediatric surgeons still use plastic surgery techniques that certainly give satisfactory immediate post-operative results. These, unfortunately, deteriorate with age, following the persistence of dysfunctions (ventilation, chewing, swallowing). Heavy orthognathic surgical techniques (maxillary osteotomies, bone grafts) may thus be necessary at the end of growth. Early physiological surgery, well described in this book, avoids these catastrophic changes and often requires only a few discreet corrections at the end of adolescence.

This is to say the interest of its distribution and of this new edition.“

Roman Bánsky, MD, PhD

Institute of Paediatric Aesthetic Surgery

Poliklinika Karlova Ves

Líščie údolie 57

842 31 Bratislava 4

Slovakia

e-mail: romanplast@hotmail.com