Your child has a cleft lip? Early surgery is the best solution
Sure you love your child with all your heart, no matter under what conditions has arrived. But the baby was born with cleft lip, one of the most common birth defects. And while the doctors and I have talked about how it can be corrected through surgery, you wonder how it will affect the look on his face, his ability to speak and eat, their relationship with others … Here we explain why it happens, and why early surgery is the best solution.
The baby is almost a month and a couple of weeks are scheduled for surgery to correct cleft lip. Either you are pregnant, and by ultrasound, the obstetrician found the girl he hopes to reach with this birth defect. Do not despair. You’re not alone. Only in the United States about 7,000 babies have cleft lip and/or palate each year. This has a solution. The most important thing is to act quickly.
Experts agree that a successful prenatal diagnosis, surgery performed as soon as possible and well-coordinated care among a team of specialists, are vital to ensure that children born with cleft lip or cleft palate successfully overcome the problem.
According to Dr. Richard Redett, pediatric reconstructive plastic surgeon and co-director of the Clinic Cleft Palate Craniofacial and Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, ultrasound (or sonograms) during pregnancy can detect the defect in most cases. Redett notes that research has shown that early surgery helps the child to further develop their ability to speak in the future, and that this should be done before the baby is one year old. After surgery, we recommend a combination therapy among specialists in otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), speech specialists, orthodontists and pediatric psychologists.
This is roughly what the experts suggest. Let us now explain what it is, why it happens and how to avoid it.
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