cleft lip and palate

[Amber at Jeremy.hill@gte.]

I have a beautiful 15 month old little girl named Destiny. She
was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. We have gone
through tree surgeries. Each time is so hard on the entire
family. I hate to see her go through so much pain as all of us
mothers do. I am just wondering approx how many surgeries does it
take to completly repair a cleft? How does it affect there self
esteem? What other problems can a cleft cause other than ear
infections? Where can I find a good resource on information about
clefts?

[Cindy H.]

Hi , I am a mom of 4, but 3 of my children were born with
cleft lip and palate. My daughters were both born with unilateral
cleft lip and palate and my younges,a son, was born with a
bilateral cleft lip and palate. Each child is different. They
will require a different amount of surgeries. A lot depends on
how the initial repair went, how the healing process went and
also how well the parents and child followed the post op care for
each surgery. I would assume your child will have atleast 3 more,
but I am probably underestimating. Usually with a bilateral cleft
of the lip and palate they will need to have the columnella
lengthened ( this is the skin that goes from the tip of the nose
to the upper lip in between the nostrils), then at around 8 or 9
they need a bone graft and then foreseeing any other problems
they would have a revision in the late teens, but usually with a
bilateral cleft lip and palate they will need jaw surgery- not
always though. It's a long road. I understand that it's hard on
your family. Maybe you and the rest of your family should sit and
talk about it. If you have other children there are books put out
by the Cleft Palate Foundation-you can find them on line. There
are other organizations with info on clefting as well. These can
be found online as well. Good luck and if you need anything you
can e mail me at CinLou1970@aol.com



By the way my youngest is also 15 months old



Cindy

[AG 856]

Hi! I was born with the same thing I am now 14 and have gone
through six surgerys and still are not done. It will be hard to
go through but your child will become stronger. I have only have
three surgeries that were major and the rest will and have just
been cosmetic. I hope this helps you.