The exact causes of cleft lip and palate remain unknown in modern medicine, but they are typically attributed to two primary factors. The following conditions may lead to cleft lip and palate or rubella in infants: - Medications: Cholesterol-lowering drugs, antiallergic drugs, anticancer drugs, etc. - Endocrine factors: Severe psychological stress, external physical trauma, etc.Nutritional factors, including anorexia and selective eating habits, may lead to deficiencies in vitamin D, folic acid, iron, and calcium. Other contributing factors include exposure to X-rays, smoking, alcohol abuse, and oxygen deprivation.Additionally, a significant proportion of cleft lip and palate cases are hereditary. The incidence rate for the first child is approximately 1 in 600. If the first child has cleft lip and palate, the risk for the second child increases to about 3 in 100.
Severe cleft lip can impair feeding, preventing normal breastfeeding and leading to malnutrition. During growth and development, affected children may exhibit speech articulation difficulties, hindering language development. Furthermore, the visible facial defect often results in teasing from peers during school years, fostering feelings of inferiority and potentially causing psychological issues.
Cleft lip repair surgery is ideally performed between 3 and 6 months after birth. By this stage, the infant's overall condition has stabilized, allowing for safer surgery. The development of the infant's lips at this age also presents favorable conditions for the procedure. However, bilateral cleft lip surgery is more safely performed after the infant reaches 6 months of age.
All cleft lip repairs should be completed before the child turns one year old. Cleft lip and palate repair surgeries involve various techniques tailored to each patient's condition. Regardless of the method used, developmental deformities may occur as the child grows, necessitating secondary or tertiary repairs to achieve optimal results. In summary, early treatment for cleft lip is crucial—it not only reduces surgical risks but also minimizes post-operative scarring.
The older the parents, the higher the risk of their child developing congenital cleft lip. To reduce this risk, parents should consider having children at a younger age. During pregnancy, expectant mothers should avoid smoking, drinking alcohol, and taking medications, while maintaining a positive mental state to minimize the likelihood of congenital abnormalities.
Commonly known as a cleft lip, cleft lip and palate deformities rank among the most prevalent congenital anomalies, with an incidence rate of 0.182%.
Primary manifestations of cleft lip and palate include:
1. Cleft lip: Isolated fissure of the lip. 2. Cleft palate: Fissure of the upper jaw. 3. Combined cleft lip and palate: Fissure involving both lip and palate, including the dental alveolus.
Depending on whether the child has a simple cleft lip, cleft palate, combined cleft lip and palate, or cleft lip and palate including the alveolar ridge, a comprehensive treatment plan must be implemented throughout the child's development from birth to age 18. This medical approach is known as the cleft lip and palate comprehensive sequential treatment.The goal is to provide timely and appropriate treatment at different developmental stages based on the specific characteristics of the deformity. This maximizes improvements in appearance and restores functions such as sucking, speech, chewing, and hearing.
It is crucial for parents of children with cleft lip and palate to distinguish whether the deformity involves soft tissue or hard tissue structures and seek timely professional medical assistance and guidance based on the specific situation.Typically, infants with isolated cleft lip undergo surgery between 3 and 6 months of age; those with bilateral cleft lip are operated on between 6 and 12 months. Cleft palate surgery is performed within the first 1 to 2 years of life. Alveolar cleft repair or palatal reconstruction is ideally conducted between 9 and 11 years of age.Secondary soft tissue reconstruction of the nasolabial area should follow hard tissue reconstruction, typically performed between ages 14 and 16 for female patients and ages 16 and 18 for male patients. Correction of jaw deformities is addressed after ages 16 to 18.