CLEFT LIP &

CLEFT PALATE
BASIC INFORMATION
 • Statistics
• What is CLCP?
• Risk Factors
• Early diagnosis
• Effect on patients
• Management of patients
OUTLINE • Treatment
IN 1 OUT OF 1,000 FILIPINO LIVE BIRTHS,

A CLEFT LIP OR PALATE PATIENT IS BORN.

CLEFT LIP
CLEFT PALATE
• A cleft is a gap or a deficiency in
the lip and / or palate (roof of
the mouth).
• Clefts may occur when the two
sides of the lip and palate do not
grow or fuse together during the
baby’s development in the first
trimester of pregnancy.
MAIN CAUSE REMAINS UNKNOWN.

RISK FACTORS INCLUDE

Family history Poor Maternal Nutrition Taking of Unprescribed

Medicines

Early and Delayed Poor Maternal Pre-natal

Pregnancy Care
 EARLY DIAGNOSIS
• Cleft lip and palate may be diagnosed
prenatally through different imaging
techniques notably Ultrasound and
CT scan.

• This gives the parents enough

preparation to understand the
treatment process and options for
cleft lip and palate.
EFFECT OF CLCP ON PATIENTS

More than the physical deformities, the patients

suffer from low self-esteem brought about by fear
of humiliation and embarrassment and the social
stigma and trauma which makes these patients
emotionally scarred.
MANAGEMENT OF PATIENTS
VS
CLEFT CARE TEAM
Management of cleft lip and palate
patients is a multidisciplinary approach
as it involves different medical
specialties to give optimal care to the
patients.
ADVANTAGES
The advantages of having a cleft team
of experts include feeding education
and support, connection with other
parents and children affected by clefts,
parent engagement in treatment
planning, education about clefts and
speech development, and pre- and
post-surgical care and support.
CHEILOPLASTY
• Cheiloplasty involves rotating and
advancing the skin and muscles
Surgery for Cleft Lip
starts as early as 3 around the lip and joining them
months of age under together to create a normal lip
General Anesthesia, appearance.
provided that the baby
is well-nourished and
without any associated • Procedure usually leaves a small scar
illness.
on the lip under the nose.
PALATOPLASTY
• Palatoplasty involves connecting the
muscles of the soft palate and
For Surgery of the rearrange the tissues to close the
Cleft Palate, patients
cleft.
as young as 9 months
old can be operated
on or until before the
child begins to talk or • The goal of palatoplasty is to create
develop speech. a palate that will work well for
speech. Under the care of a qualified
and certified specialist, the results of
these procedures produce dramatic
and significant outcomes.
 END

Sourced from an article by : Dr. Gene Gerald SJ. Tiongco, MD, FPAPRAS. Consultant of the Section of
Plastic and Reconstruction of the Institute of Surgery in St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City. Fellow of
the Philippine Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (PAPRAS).