Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
It is a distressing experience for the mother to see her new baby with a cleft lip and palate. Such a deformity is very obvious, and often the parents have a feeling of guilt or shame. It would be reassuring for the parents to know just how much can be done to remedy the condition. Surgical treatment to close the lip defect is made early— often before the child leaves hospital with its mother for the first time. This is, of course, a good psychological factor for the mother and for other members of the family, and lessens the risk of ‘rejection’ of the child as not quite belonging. However, the time of surgery and its nature depends on the condition of the child—a decision to be made by the surgeon. The immediate problem at birth is that of feeding, and lip closure surgery helps this.