Congratulations on a new pregnancy and a coming baby with a gesture of happiness and love, but worries began to come to you since the doctor told you that your child had cleft lip after examining him with the sonar. cleft lip deformation is one of the most common facial anomalies experienced by newborn babies, and the child with this congenital deformity needs a lot of support, whether psychological or physical support to get rid of this deformation through plastic surgery.

cleft lip

cleft lip is a genetic deformation that occurs during the development of the fetus in its mother’s uterus, so that not enough tissue is formed in the area of ​​the lips and mouth and it does not heal properly, so that a separation occurs between the sides of the upper lip, or a small gap that forms between them in the skin tissue, and this separation often extends beyond the base The nose includes the upper jawbones. Cleft palate differs in the cleft's lip in children, as it is represented by a gap or separation that occurs in the roof of the mouth and its front and may not include injury to the lips. The newborn may be accompanied by a cleft lip with a sore throat, or either of them can occur separately because both develop on their own during fetal development in the uteras.

cleft lip types

Cleft lip surgery is a surgery that aims to beautify the appearance of the lip and the roof of the throat caused by a birth defect or deformity in which the child was born. There are four types of plastic surgery for the cleft lip:

1. Cleft lip surgery only
2. cleft lip and cleft soft palate surgery
3. cleft lip and cleft hard palate surgery
4. roof of the throat, upper jawbones and gums surgery

cleft lip treatment

You have to prepare psychologically because your child's surgery to beautify the cleft lip will not be the only one. It usually requires a series of surgeries that may extend over several years, depending on your child's condition. But the postoperative recovery periods are very important, during which the doctor's instructions should be strictly adhered to.

Also, in the periods between which there are no surgeries, you should be concerned with the way to feed your child in order not to suffer from malnutrition or poor growth. Also, periodic attention should be paid to the child so that he does not experience hearing or dental problems. In general, this stage can pass safely through some caution and care for the child, and your child will grow back normally without problems.

Suitable age to operate a cleft lip surgery

Your child's cleft lip repair surgeries start at about three months of age, and continue until his condition has fully stabilized at the age of 18 or more. The surgery to repair the roof of the throat may be slightly delayed, starting at the age of six months to a year, and this is to allow the jaw and face bones to develop sufficiently so that the process does not hinder their growth.

Your child may need some bone grafts by his eighth year to complete the gumline and support and fix the upper jaw. About 20% of cases require further surgery to improve their speech. Most likely your child will need to wear orthodontics as soon as his permanent teeth appear. It may seem a bit exhausting for you, but it deserves your child to have a normal and peaceful life.