Cleft Lip. Cleft Palate. Facial Clefts
One in every 700 births results in a cleft lip and/or palate. Many of these congenital deformities occur in families that have no history of clefts. There are ethnic variations in the incidence of clefting. Clefts of the lip only occur in 21% of affected populations, whereas 46% involve clefts of the lip and palate and 33% are isolated cleft palate defects.
Multiple factors increase the risk of cleft ing including hereditary factors, alcohol abuse, isotretinoin (Accutane) and smoking. However in most cases, clefts occur in families with no prior history and no identifable risk factors during pregnancy.
Clefts may be seen as a spectrum of deformity that can vary in degree of severity from minor involvement of the lip to greater involvement of the nose, alveolus and palate. Severe facial clefting may involve midline structures or lateral structures with both sift tissue and bony defects.
Unilateral Cleft Lip
Unilateral cleft lip may involve part of the lip or the entire height of the lip. The degree of clefting in partial cleft lip may range from vermilion only to two-thirds of lip height.
Bilateral clefts are a more severe form of clefting than unilateral clefts because the lip is divided into three segments: the clefts occur along both philtral columns, creating two lateral segments and a middle segment which has neither muscles nor vermilion.
Cleft palate may be present without clefting of the lip and alveolus. It may involve only the soft palate, the soft and part of the hard palate, or the entire palate, soft and hard. The clefts, especially complete clefts of the palate, may vary in width. The wider the cleft, the more difficult surgical closure becomes. Each palatal cleft affects speech, and, for this reason, in the treatment of cleft palate only, close cooperation between the surgeon and speech pathologist is necessary.
Repair of Cleft Lips/ Palates
The principles of cleft lip and palate repair has evolved over several year. Adequate treatment should begin with a thorough evaluation in the context of a multidisciplinary craniofacial team. Whereas several techniques have been describes, it is advantageous if your surgeon is comfortable with more than one technique and uses the technique that best suites you child's deformity rather than using the same method for all deformities.
If your child has cleft lip or cleft palate contact us directly or ask your pediatrician for a referral. Repair of cleft lip deformities are usually delayed for 2 to 3 months to allow your child to grow. Cleft palate repair usually takes place between age 9 -12months. Experts in our center will discuss feeding, speech, hearing and genetic issue with you.
For an appointment call 410 502 2145