Congenital cleft lip and palate repair

Congenital cleft lip and palate is caused by genetic problems or it may be caused by bacterial infection of the fetus during the development process. These congenital cleft lip and palate can be detected through B-ultrasound and color ultrasound methods, so through the examination, everyone can clearly understand the symptoms of congenital cleft lip and palate. The repair method for congenital cleft lip and palate is generally to perform repair surgery 3 months after the baby is born.

Causes of Cleft Lip and Palate

Cleft lip and palate is the most common congenital malformation of the oral and maxillofacial region, with an average of 1 in every 700 babies born suffering from it. Cleft lip and palate is a congenital malformation that mainly occurs between the 4th and 10th week of pregnancy due to certain pathogenic factors, leading to fetal facial development disorders. At present, medical science believes that the possible causative factors are:

1. Genetic factors: Similar deformities occur in some children's direct or collateral relatives. About 20% of children with cleft lip and palate can be found to have a genetic history.

2. Infection and injury: If the mother has been infected with a virus such as influenza, rubella, or has suffered some kind of injury in the early stages of pregnancy (about 2 months), it may be the cause of cleft lip and palate.

3. The pregnant mother suffers from chronic diseases such as anemia, diabetes, severe nutritional disorders, etc. during pregnancy.

4. Taking certain medications during pregnancy: such as sedatives, anti-epileptic drugs and hormone drugs.

5. The mother received large doses of X-rays during pregnancy.

6. In experimental animal studies, it was found that when mice lack vitamin A, vitamin B, pantothenic acid, folic acid and other food components, they may develop various deformities including cleft lip. Someone once investigated mothers who gave birth to children with cleft lip and palate. Some of them had obvious deficiencies of calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamin B, vitamin C, vitamin D, etc. due to pregnancy vomiting or picky eating in the early stages of pregnancy. Therefore, nutritional deficiencies in early pregnancy may be one of the causes of the disease.

7. It is currently believed that the drugs related to the occurrence of congenital cleft lip and palate deformities include six major categories: hormones, antispasmodics, alkylating agents, antibiotics, vitamins and sedatives. Therefore, pregnant mothers must take medication under the guidance of a doctor during pregnancy and never take medication at will to avoid causing irreparable harm.

8. Infection and injury factors: If the mother suffers from viral infection in the early stages of pregnancy, it may affect the development of the fetus and cause cleft lip and palate or cleft facial deformities.

Cleft lip and palate not only seriously affects facial appearance, but also directly affects development because the mouth and nasal cavity are connected. It often leads to upper respiratory tract infections and otitis media. Babies may also suffer from obvious malnutrition due to difficulty in sucking milk. Therefore, the key to preventing cleft lip and palate lies in early pregnancy.

Can cleft lip and palate be cured?

The treatment of cleft lip and palate is a series of treatments, and none of them can be ignored. Cleft lip and palate can be divided into: unilateral cleft lip and palate and bilateral cleft lip and palate. It is currently recognized both at home and abroad that the best time for cleft lip surgery is 3 months after birth, which refers to infants with unilateral cleft lip and palate. The best period for treating infants with bilateral cleft lip and palate is 12 months after birth. The goal of treatment is to restore the normal shape of the upper lip and normal language function.

In terms of the selection of cleft palate surgical methods, the principle is to choose those surgical methods that can effectively restore the voice of children with cleft palate and have little effect on the growth of the maxillary bone. Studies have shown that the vomerine flap repair of the hard palate performed at the same time as cleft lip repair can effectively reduce the width of the cleft palate, allowing most children to avoid or reduce the relaxing incisions made near the gingival margin on both sides during cleft palate repair and the distance of moving the palatal mucoperiosteal flap to the midline, without significantly affecting the early growth of the maxillary bone.

After cleft lip and palate surgery, there is often varying degrees of nasal deformity, such as flat or collapsed nostrils on the cleft side, crooked nose tip, etc. Rhinoplasty should be performed at the age of 8. In addition, children with cleft lip and palate often have uneven maxillary teeth and overbite. Orthodontic treatment should be started around the age of 12.

The treatment of cleft lip and palate is comprehensive and requires the collaboration of dentists, surgeons, plastic surgeons, pediatricians and even psychologists. While cooperating with the treatment, parents must also ensure the child's feeding, speech training, and psychological correction. These three aspects of cooperation are indispensable for the treatment of children with lip and palate disorders.