Why Choose A Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
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Cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common birth anomalies affecting children in North America and worldwide. The incomplete formation of the upper lip (cleft lip) or roof of the mouth (cleft palate) can occur individually, or both defects may occur together. The conditions can vary in severity and may involve one or both sides of the mouth. Surgery is required to repair cleft lip and/or cleft palate.
A cleft, or separation of the upper lip and/or the roof of the mouth, occurs very early in the development of your unborn child. During fetal development, certain components of the upper lip and roof of the mouth fail to grow together normally. In some cases, a syndrome may be responsible for the occurrence of the cleft. For most affected children, however, the cause will no be known. In these cases, the cleft is thought to result from a complex interaction of genetic and environmental factors.
Cleft lip repair and cleft palate repair are types of surgery used to correct this abnormal development and are meant to restore function to the lips and mouth along with producing a more normal appearance. Most clefts can be repaired through specialized plastic surgery techniques and will help to improve your child's ability to eat, speak, hear and breathe.
Early intervention by a team of specialists is needed to evaluate and manage your child's treatment and development in cases of cleft lip and/or cleft palate. The team will work together to deﬁne a course of treatment, including feeding recommendations, surgical repair of the cleft, speech rehabilitation and dental restoration. These specialists may include a:
It is important to know that at the earliest stages feeding, growth, and development will be the most important priorities for your child's cleft-related care. Specialized bottles, or more rarely, feeding tubes, may be necessary to help your child eat well. Often, when a cleft palate is involved, the infant will not be able to feed at the breast like other infants due to problems with creating oral suction.
Surgery to repair a cleft of the lip or palate is highly individualized. Surgery is intended to close the cleft defect, but also to help your child ability to function and grow normally. Cleft lip repair, also called cheiloplasty, includes reconstruction of the lip to create a more normal appearance, namely:
Clefts of the upper lip typically affect the shape of the nose and additional procedures may be recommended to:
Because the palate creates the ﬂoor of the nasal cavity and is responsible for allowing normal speech, considerations in repairing a cleft palate include:
The timing of the cleft repairs depends on the individual circumstances of your child.