Cleft lip & palate

[Darcykaz@hotmail.com]

My daughter Nadia was born on Jan.6th 1998 with unilateral
cleft lip &palate. My mother-in-law was also born with cleft
lip only. My older daughter Angela, age 9 was unaffected. Nadia
has had 2 surgeries. The first surgery was on march 26th 1998
& the 2nd was June 26th. The 2nd surgery was a lip revision.
The surgeon was able to form the nose a little better & even
up the cupids bow. She looks wonderful & I am very thankful
for what they are so able to do today for this birth defect.
Unfortunately my mother-in-law wasnt as kucky. She has has false
teeth since she was 6 yrs old. Her lip repair wasnt as detailed.
Nadia next surgery will be her palate. I am really dreading that
surgery but Iknow that the results are goingto be very
successful. She will have many more surgeries in the future &
I am very optimistic that maybe as time goes on she may not need
somany. Things are changing everyday with new medical techniques.
I am willing to help anyone who is dealing with the same issues.
I could also use more support. The more the better. Thank you:)
Darcy*

[LOUEDKID@aol.com]

Hi - hope you can find the support you need. I just found this
site myself, even though I have a 9 yr. old son with cleft lip
and palate. He has had 7 or 8 surgeries ( it's terrible, I've
lost track). He looks great and you can hardly even see a scar.
I'm sure things will go as well for you - if you ever need to
talk about it, or have questions, I'll try to help. It's
difficult to get through, and no child should have to be
subjected to this, but in the end, you'll be stronger. Take care,
and write to the above e-mail address if you'd like. Good luck -
hope to hear from you. Sorry, fogot to tell you, my name is
Lynne.

[cmsmith@midsouth.ualr.edu]

I was wondering if your doctor had said anything about not
repairing the nose. Our plastic surgeon has told us that the nose
could not be fixed until the child was around 14-15 years of age
because the nose would not grow with the body, if fixed. Is this
true?