There are many children in the world born with cleft lip and others born with a cleft palate. This also means that there are various surgical interventions have been made to correct this birth defect and most of the children who have undergone cleft lip surgery come out as if they were born normally. In other words, this one of the best ventures in the medical field where doctors and surgeons from all over the world look forwards to returning smiles on children faces.
Otherwise, there are various facts and aspects that surround the cleft lip condition and its surgery. Some of these facts will explain what cleft lip is, what causes it, how it is diagnosed and its medical treatment. These facts are
Cleft lip is the physical separation of two sides of a child’s upper lip where there seems to be a gap on upper lip. There are times the separation goes beyond the base of the nose touching the upper gum jaws. Therefore, the lips form a gap that exposes one’s teeth or gums.
Cleft lip can be attributed to genes; medical treatment of the mother while pregnant or exposure to certain viruses or chemicals while pregnant. These factors can only contribute to the condition but not cause the condition because there are no particular causes of cleft lip.
The diagnosis may include an x-ray to determine the level of the split on a child’s mouth and other medical procedures that will guide the procedure for the cleft lip surgery. Otherwise, in some cases the gum and teeth may have already been affected owing to gap of the mouth.
All about Cleft lip surgery
This is a corrective surgery that will require one or two sessions depending on the kind of repair needed to repair the lip. Most time, the first surgery will be performed when a baby is three months. Otherwise, other surgeries to be performed on the cleft lip patient are only to improve the facial appearance and close the gaps between the nose and mouth for easier breathing and realign the jaw. For scar repairs, these are usually done during adolescence when the face is fully developed.
There are extra precautions or measures taken after a cleft lip surgery or for cleft lip children where their jaws and teeth need extra care. Therefore, they will need dental care for teeth hygiene and nutrition advice and orthodontic care to monitor facial and jaw development which are all important for cleft lip and cleft palate children.
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