What is a Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
A cleft lip is a birth defect found in children where the lip if not formed completely. Sometimes the upper roof of the mouth is also malformed. This condition is called the Cleft Palate. Some children are affected by both conditions (both cleft lip and palate), but they may occur individually too: i.e. a child may just have cleft lip or cleft palate. Â These conditions develop in the fetal stage where some abnormalities cause the lip and the upper roof of the mouth to be incompletely formed. Due to this condition, the child’s speech, breathing, eating abilities a re hampered. Also, the child may feel awkward socially, as they cleft lip makes him look different from normal.
The medical term for Cleft lip is Cheiloschisis and that of the Cleft palate is Palatoschisis.
Cleft Lip and Palate Repair
Cleft Lip and Palate Repair or Surgery is process where a plastic surgeon operates on the malformed parts and tried to restore its normal functions and also makes the face appear normal. Once the repair operation is successfully completely, the child should be able to breathe, eat and speak almost normally.Read if you want to know alternative breast enlargement surgery
Cleft Lift Surgery
Cleft Lift Surgery is carried by a team of doctors. The team that treats the child over a course of time could include a plastic surgeon, an anesthesiologist, the child pediatric surgeon, and ENT specialist, a speech therapist and general social counselor. Also read on risks and dangers of affordable plastic surgery
The Cleft Repair surgery typically aims to accomplish the following:
- The gap in the upper lip is closed by stitching. The may result in a slight scar on the lip.
- The shape of the lip is restored – the bow shape with the lip shaping down in the middle.
- The distance between the nose and the lip is adjusted.
Sometimes a cleft lip also affects the shape of the nose. In such cases, the cleft lift surgery tries to achieve the following objectives:
- Make sure that the nostrils appear symmetrical
- The tissue in the center of the nose is in the right position and has the right size.
- The tip of the nose is sharp enough to avoid a flat-nose look
When should the cleft lip and palate surgery be conducted
The timing of the surgery really depends on the individual. If the child does not have any other complications, the cleft lip surgery can be conducted after at least 3 months and the weight of the child is over 10 pounds and has a hemoglobin count of over 10.
The cleft palate surgery should be conducted much later, when the child is about 18-24 Â months. Again, the child’s pediatric surgeon and the plastic surgeon will be in the best position to decide the timing. Consult with them on the details of the cleft surgery and it’s after care.
Bilateral Cleft Lip Repair
When the cleft lip affects both sides of the lips, it is called a bilateral cleft lip. Surgery undertaken to repair the bilateral cleft lip is primarily done to restore a normal facial appearance. The surgery is usually complicated compared to the unilateral cleft Lip repair. Here are some pre-conditions for bilateral surgery eligibility:
- The child must bet at least 10-12 weeks
- the child is growing normally, feeding normally
- The child does not have any infections
- The child does not suffer from any other complications like respiratory disorder, lung disease etc.
- The child must weigh at least 10-12 pounds
- Has a Hemoglobin value of 10 g/100 mL
- Has a WBC count less than 10,000/µL
Risks of Cleft Lip and Palate Repair
Some of the risks of cleft lift surgery are:
- Possibility of infection
- Some children may bleed more during and after the surgery
- There could be asymmetries after the surgery which may require follow up surgeries
- The usual risks of anesthesia
- Allergies to tape, sutures and other external material used for the cleft lift.
- Sometimes the incisions may take longer to heal, causing a lot of discomfort to the child.
- The scars may remain vary prominent after the cleft and palate repair surgery.
Pediatric Plastic Surgeons | Cosmetic Surgeons for Children and Infants If you have a kid who needs the help of reconstructive surgery because of some deformities on their faces or bodies, then you would have to find a plastic surgeon for him. There are a number of pediatric plastic surgeons that you can choose from now. They will be able to do any kind of surgical procedure that you would need for your kid. All you have to do is choose one with whom you can entrust your kid when it comes to correction of his deformity.
What Can Pediatric Plastic Surgeons Do?
Children are said to comprise some three percent of all the procedures under plastic surgery and most of these were usually performed to address a congenital deformity. So, with this, you can see that pediatric plastic surgeons usually do reconstructive surgery on children. Aside from congenital deformities, other deformity problems that they correct on children include those brought by trauma, tumors, developmental abnormality, disease, and infections.
Although most of the time, only reconstructive surgery are done by pediatric plastic surgeons so that normal motor function can be restored and health problems can be prevented in the future, there are also times when cosmetic surgery will be considered. This is because there are certain deformities that need a combined reconstructive and cosmetic surgery for favorable results to be achieved.
Defects That Can Be Corrected by Pediatric Plastic Surgeons
There are a number of congenital defects that are corrected by pediatric plastic surgeons yearly and one of the most common of these is the cleft lip and palate repair. This is because it has been estimated that one of every 700 to 1,000 live births are affected with this deformity.
There are other congenital defects that are corrected by pediatric plastic surgeons as well and these include:
Syndactyly or Polydactyly ??” this is a deformity that affects the limbs like the fingers and the toes.
Craniosynostosis ??” this is known to be quite rare but is known to be serious. This happens when one or more skull sutures fuse together prematurely. When this happens, only a surgical procedure can be done for the reconstruction of the skull.
Positional Plagiocephaly ??” this is indicated by a flattening of one part of the skull. Although this could be treated by repositioning the baby often when sleeping, there are cases when this has to be resolved surgically.
If you have a kid who is suffering from any of these deformities, then you would have nothing to worry about. This is because there are now a number of pediatric plastic surgeons that could address your problems for you.