Cleft lip & palate - Symptoms, Causes, Images, and Treatment Options

Diseases

Highlights & Basics

Key Highlights

Cleft lip with or without cleft palate is approximately twice as common as isolated cleft palate.
The majority of cleft lip deformities are associated with a varying degree of nasal deformity.
Orofacial clefts can occur in isolation or as a component of an identifiable syndrome. They are among the most common birth defects.
The etiology of cleft lip and palate involves a variety of genetic and environmental factors that result in variable expressions of orofacial clefting.
Comprehensive care involves a multidisciplinary cleft team with specialists from fields such as facial plastic surgery, genetics, nursing, speech-language pathology, orthodontics, dentistry, oral surgery, audiology, and pediatrics.

Unilateral cleft lip and palate preoperatively

From the collection of Travis T. Tollefson, MD, FACS

Quick Reference

History & Exam
- Key Factors
- Other Factors
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Diagnostics Tests
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Treatment Options
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Definition

Epidemiology

Etiology

Pathophysiology

Images

Kernahan striped "Y" cleft classification
Tessier craniofacial cleft classification
Infant with right incomplete Tessier No. 3 atypical craniofacial cleft
Repaired bilateral cleft lip showing the lip pits of van der Woude syndrome
Lateral view of infant with Pierre Robin sequence
Infant with Pierre Robin sequence with external mandibular distraction osteogenesis device in place
Diagram of the 5-week-old embryo with the 5 major facial prominences labeled (the medial and lateral nasal prominences develop from the frontonasal prominence)
Bilateral cleft lip and palate preoperatively
Unilateral cleft lip and palate preoperatively
Microform cleft lip
Submucous cleft palate
Lateral view of infant with Pierre Robin sequence
Unilateral cleft lip and palate postoperatively
Bilateral cleft lip and palate postoperatively
Unilateral cleft lip postoperatively
Incomplete unilateral cleft lip preoperatively
Incomplete unilateral cleft lip postoperatively
CT distraction osteogenesis
Taping of cleft lip
Presurgical nasoalveolar molding appliance in place
PNAM device in a unilateral cleft showing nasal conformer wire in the right nostril
Unilateral cleft lip repair showing rotation-advancement design
Cleft palate repair showing von Langenback design
Cleft palate repair showing 3-flap palatoplasty design
Cleft palate repair showing Furlow double-opposing Z-plasty design
Cleft palate repair showing 2-flap palatoplasty design
Unrepaired complete unilateral cleft palate

Citations

Key Articles

Veau V. Bec-de-lièvre; formes cliniques - chirurgie. Avec la collaboration de J Récamier. Paris, France: Masson et Cie; 1938.
Wyszynski DF, Beaty TH, Maestri NE. Genetics of nonsyndromic oral clefts revisited. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 1996 Sep;33(5):406-17.[Abstract][Full Text]
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. Palate examination: identification of cleft palate in the newborn. Oct 2014 [internet publication].[Full Text]
American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association. Parameters for evaluation and treatment of patients with cleft lip/palate or other craniofacial differences. Jan 2018 [internet publication].[Full Text]
Boyce JO, Reilly S, Skeat J, et al. ABM Clinical Protocol #17: Guidelines for breastfeeding infants with cleft lip, cleft palate, or cleft lip and palate-revised 2019. Breastfeed Med. 2019 Sep;14(7):437-44.[Abstract][Full Text]
Cutting C, Grayson B, Brecht L, et al. Presurgical columellar elongation and primary retrograde nasal reconstruction in one-stage bilateral cleft lip and nose repair. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2012 Sep;130(3):659-66.[Abstract]

Other Online Resources

University of California Davis, Department of Otolaryngology: cleft and craniofacial program

Referenced Articles

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39. Onizuka T, Hosaka Y, Aoyama R. Operations for microforms of cleft lip. Cleft Palate Craniofac J. 1991 Jul;28(3):293-300.[Abstract][Full Text]
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