Cleft lips, which are often accompanied by cleft palates, are a common congenital defect that some babies have when they are born. A cleft lip is when there is a split or opening in the upper lip of a newborn baby, and the defect happens while the baby is still in the womb. While you can detect a cleft lip before the baby is born, treatment will have to wait until after birth.
While cleft lips are not necessarily common, they are common in terms of birth defects. They happen when the living cells that form an unborn baby come together to form the lips of the baby. Due to a problem, the cells do not form perfectly together, resulting in a split or cleft lip.
In addition to disfiguring the face, a cleft lip can also cause serious speech and eating problems. As such, treatment will revolve around surgically repairing the lip, as well as helping the child develop at a natural rate in terms of eating and speaking.
The only way to fully repair a cleft lip is with surgery. Cleft lip surgery typically cannot be performed until the baby is at least three months old. Once they are old enough, the surgery is performed to close the gap in the lip. This is done by cutting on either side of the cleft and using flaps of skin and lip tissue to fill the opening. The sides are then stitched together, and the lip starts to heal.
If the cleft lip is high enough, it can also affect one or both nostrils. If this is the case, your surgeon will repair the nostrils at this time as well. The goal of lip cleft surgery is to give the lip and nose as normal an appearance as possible. However, they may require additional surgery and treatment down the road to tend to other problems caused by the cleft lip.
If the split in the lip is high enough, it can affect the gums and teeth. If this is the case, your baby will need oral surgery to repair the mouth so that their teeth are aligned and develop normally. However, this surgery cannot be performed until the baby is at least six months old and sometimes has to wait for a year.
In addition to oral surgery and lip cleft surgery, additional surgeries may be necessary depending on the severity of the split. This could include surgically repairing the jaw or more invasive procedures on the nose or mouth. They may even require full plastic surgery and ear surgery if they have a severe cleft palate in addition to their cleft lip.
Your baby will require feeding assistance or alternative methods of feeding both before and after their cleft palate surgery. In most cases, this means feeding your baby with bottles that have special nipples to accommodate the cleft lip.
If your child has a cleft lip, they are at much higher risk of having early speech problems. This happens because, even though the lip is repaired, it can still have structural damage that impedes their ability to speak. Therefore, they should receive a speech therapy consultation when they start talking to determine if ongoing therapy is necessary.
In severe cleft lip cases, your child will have ongoing care until they reach their teenage years. This could include ongoing surgeries to repair the gums, nose, mouth, and jaw or speech therapy. Your child might also need counselling if their cleft lip causes them to look different than other kids their age due to scarring or residual problems.
While cleft lips can be a frightening experience for parents and painful for babies, they are very treatable. However, it is essential that your baby receive the surgical and medical attention they need as early as possible because the longer you wait to fix a cleft lip, the more likely they are to have permanent speech problems and facial defects.