Orbator success?? Anyone ever have one?

[Kim]

Our son has a large fistula (2 cm) in his hard palate which developed after his surgery. He is going to be operated on again in October, but until then they are trying to fit his with an orbutor? Has anyone ever used one of these and what is the success rate - he is currently 4 months. Thanks!

[Jeff Alterman]

An obturator should be quite successful in making feeding a cleft affected infant easier. It might help to decrease the number of ear infections since it helps to eliminate the communication between the oral cavity and the nasal cavity. Although I'm cleft myself, I never needed an obturator since my cleft is of the submucous variety and there is no communication between the oral cavity and the nasal cavity. I do however, know of a cleft affected person who used an obturator for quite a number of years since he had a significant cleft palate and the occasional fistula. These problems have been cleared up with the subject and his palate is closed and he no longer needs an obturator. You should note that some cleft affected persons can have some pain from their clefts even after all the surguries are completed. Although I never needed surgery for my submucous cleft, I'm in some pain from it and it isn't a lot of fun. Thankfully the pain isn't a constant thing, but it can be a bit of an inconvenience and an annoyance. Jeff Alterman at alterman@bestweb.net

[Carina]

Our son was born six weeks ago with a unilateral cleft lip and palate. We have been working side by side with a dentist since he was a week old getting him ready for his first lip surgery. Aiden has had and obturator since he was two weeks old, and it is wonderful! It is not only helping him eat easier, but it also helping to move tissue into place before his surgery. His lip is coming together nicely, and we hope scaring will be reduced after. (We are also taping his lip together.) I have nothing but good things to say about the use of obturators. Before he had one, our son had a large ulceration on the roof of his mouth from eating on this sensitive tissue, that cleared up instantly after he had his obturator.