Cleft Lip/Palate Craniofacial Program
The Cleft Palate Program began in 1957 and serves children and families throughout Delaware and neighboring states. The program includes a multidisciplinary team offering comprehensive evaluation, treatment and support services to patients with facial clefts and related disorders. Weekly clinics are held at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington.
Multidisciplinary Approach:
Clefts of the lip and palate are the most common craniofacial anomalies. Approximately 1 in 500 babies born in the United States has some type of cleft, a cleft of the lip and/or palate. This rate varies on a number of factors including the type of cleft.
Facial clefts may cause various problems ranging from airway and feeding difficulties in the neonatal period to dental, speech, hearing and facial growth impairment. Because of these problems associated with clefts, expertise from different specialists is required for organized and timely treatment.
By offering comprehensive evaluation by a variety of specialists, the multidisciplinary team approach ensures that the complex needs of each child are met.
The team meets to develop a customized treatment plan. Findings and recommendations for care are included in the report which is available to the family and the primary care physician. The nurse coordinator and social worker are available to assist the family with the recommendations. Treatment is provided by members of the team as well as health care practitioners in the family’s community.
Typical Diagnoses/Problems:
- Airway and feeding difficulties in the neonatal period
- Dental, speech, hearing and facial growth impairment
The Team:
The multidisciplinary team includes staff from Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and the Delaware Division of Public Health. Each specialty required for comprehensive management of patients with cleft lip and palate is represented:
- Advanced Practice Nursing
- Audiology
- Dentistry
- Genetics/Pediatrics
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
- Orthodontics
- Otolaryngology
- Plastic Surgery
- Psychology
- Social Work
- Speech-Language Pathology
The advanced practice nurse serves as initial contact for new referrals, coordinates the multidisciplinary team, visits and provides guidance to families of children with facial clefts. The team provides medical direction to the family for the child’s needs related to the cleft in consultation with the child’s primary physician.
Children are seen at the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children from birth through 17 years and in some cases until age 21. Genetic counseling and antenatal consultation are available.
Social workers from the Delaware Division of Public Health and the Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children support families of children with clefts by helping locate resources, guiding financial assistance and communicating with schools and healthcare professionals. Each of Delaware’s three counties is represented by a social worker on the cleft palate team. The social workers also assist with the identification of resources for out of state families.
