Having a cleft lip and/or cleft palate means the tissues of the mouth or lip don’t form like they should during fetal development. A cleft lip is a long opening between the upper lip and the nose. A cleft palate is an opening between the roof of the mouth and the nasal cavity.
Clefts of the lip and palate happen in one in about 500 babies in the United States. Facial clefts may cause various problems ranging from breathing and feeding difficulties in infancy to dental, speech, hearing, and facial growth problems. Thankfully, though, clefts can usually be diagnosed in utero (in the womb) and corrective surgery is sometimes performed shortly after birth. And a multidisciplinary team approach and comprehensive evaluation by a variety of specialists ensures we meet each child's complex needs.
Our highly skilled team at Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children includes a:
- geneticist
- plastic surgeon
- otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat)
- oral surgeon
- orthodontist
- dentist
- speech pathologist
- audiologist
- nurse coordinator
- social worker and/or psychologist