THE CLEFT PALATE TEAM

Caring for a child born with a cleft of the lip or of the palate is a lifelong commitment. It starts immediately after birth and continues throughout childhood and the teen years.
A multitude of aspects of the child’s development have to be closely monitored, from the simple (in most cases) task of teaching the parents how to feed their newborn, to the much more complicated performance of a sequence of surgical procedures that are necessary to restore normal form and function. All this requires constant attention by a team of clinical specialists.
Genetic evaluation is very important in order to separate the simple forms of clefts (which constitute the vast majority of cases) from the rarer more severe forms that are part of a syndrome and which may carry a more guarded prognosis, as well as to advise the parents of the risks of a future pregnancy with regard to cleft lip and palate.
Language acquisition and speech development must be closely monitored. Speech must be stimulated and any abnormal speech patterns have to be detected and corrected very early in life.
Children born with clefts are very susceptible to ear infections.

                       

Their ears have to be checked most regularly, for if left unattended they may suffer hearing loss and possibly even more serious problems.
Every child should have regular dental checkups, and this applies to the child with a cleft. Maintaining your child’s teeth in the best possible condition is of paramount importance for the best possible outcome of the child’s rehabilitation.
It is evident that only an organized group of professionals primarily interested in clefts can carry out this task and provide in a concerted way the necessary treatment to the growing child and the support to his parents. This group of professionals constitutes the cleft palate team.

Members of a typical cleft palate team include:
The Plastic / Craniofacial Surgeon, who will perform the surgical procedures necessary to close the clefts.
The Otolaryngologist (or ENT specialist) who will check the ears on a regular basis, and intervene by treating ear infections as they occur and will carry out any surgical procedures that become necessary.
The Speech and Language Pathologist, who is a professional trained in the evaluation of speech and language development and treatment of any problems in this area.
The Pedodontist (or Pediatric Dentistry specialist) who will monitor dental development and make sure the teeth are kept in as good a condition as possible throughout the rehabilitation period.
The Orthodontist who will be in charge of monitoring and recording the development of the teeth and jaws and aligning the teeth with braces as this becomes necessary.
The team may also include specialists in Pediatrics (although you may of course use the pediatrician of your choice), Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Nursing, Psychology, and Genetics.