At the early stages of the development in the mother’s womb, the right and left halves of the lip and palate grow simultaneously. Rarely (in one out of every 800 live births), these two halves developing simultaneously cannot unite at the midline completely. This inability to unite may be in the lip, palate or both of them.
When performed by experienced plastic surgeons, very satisfactory results are achieved.
Cleft lip may be in various forms, from a simple slit to a very large slit extending up to the nose; and they can also be both single or double sided.
Generally, the operation is deferred until the infant reaches10 weeks of age, in order to allow for adequate growth of the tissues, to an extent suitable for performing the surgery. During surgery, the muscles around the lip are brought to their normal anatomic positions, and the split in the lip is closed. Deformity in the form of nose wing can be corrected at the same session or later.
Cleft palate may cover the entire palate or a part of it. Generally, cleft palate surgery is deferred until the infant reaches18 months of age, in order to allow for the performance of the surgery. During the surgery, the muscles developing in a wrong way are brought to their correct anatomical locations, and then the splits are closed