I am new here and really do not know how all this works!

[proud mother]

I have a 9 month old precious little girl that was born with cleft lip on January 13, 2006. My husband and I had know idea that she was going to be born with this and were shocked.
She has already had her first surgery and you can hardly even tell she was born with cleft lip. She now has two teeth and I think is trying to cut some on top. She has a gap in her top gum and I was wondering if anyone has any advice that has dealt with the same experience?
We go back on October 26 to Childrens Hospital for her 6 month checkup.
I am afraid I will forget to ask all the "so important questions".

[GWH1]

Hi!

I am from Huntsville and I have a son who is now 15 months old. Matthew was born with a left-sided unilateral cleft lip and alveolus. His hard and soft palate appear to be normal. We had our first surgery at Children's on 9/13/05. Dr. Paul Gardner was his PS, but he has since relocated and started a private practice. He is an awesome surgeon. We are now seeing Dr. Grant and are not anticipating any further surgery until age 5. There will be a nose revision and possibly a minor lip revision. He seems to have retained a slight "bulge" in his vermilion tissue at the incision. Dr. Grant says it is very common and no problem to correct.

My wife and I were fortunate to learn about Matthew's cleft at our 18 week ultrasound. It was confirmed at the Kirklin Clinic in Birmingham a few days later. After diagnosis, we met with Dr. Gardner and his team. That really eased our minds......they are great!

Anyway, the cleft in Matthew's gum will not be fixed until his permanent teeth start coming in.....maybe age 7 or 8. He has quite a few teeth, and is now beginning to get his molars.

I hope you guys are doing well and assume that Dr. Grant is your PS.....

I look forward to hearing back from you!

Mark

[proud mother]

Sorry it has taken me so long to reply!
It was very good to hear from someone in my situation who knows how we feel.
We actually took Summer to her 6 month check up last Thursday(October 26) and got an excellent review from "the best" Dr. Grant-ha!
He may do a touch up on her nose in April of 2007. We will know more when we go for her next check up in 6 months.
How is Mathew? I hope wonderful.
We will have to share photos.
I was wondering how Mathews teeth came in on his top gum. Did he seem to have alot of pain with them?
I believe Summer has one in the front trying to come in. She has not felt good at all. She seems to be having more discomfort with this particular one.
Hope yall are all doing well.
Hope to hear from you again soon.

Becky Allen

[john.shimp]

I have been seeing Dr, Grant in Birmingham. I would like some reviews. We have not had any surgery yet. Please let me know what you think of him? So far we are very pleased, but we are also very new to this.

[proud mother]

Hi!

Dr. Grant in my opinion is "The Best"!!!
He has been wonderful with our daughter!!! His whole staff has been wonderful and with her surgery, he has been excellent. He sits down with you before surgery and after to make sure you fully understand everything.
I will have to get some before and after pictures of Summer and let you see them if you would like?
I would have never in a million years thought that his surgery would have been as good as it was. People now look at Summer and cannot tell she was born with cleft lip.
Summer may have a touch up on her nose in April 2007 and she will have a surgery to repair her gum when she is in 2ND grade.
Feel free to ask me any questions you may have and I will do my best to answer them if I know the answer.
I just found out about this web site a few months ago and wish I would have known about it when my daughter was born. I think it might would have eased my worries "a little"......
Hope to hear from you again soon.

Becky Allen

[GWH1]

John,

Dr. Grant has not operated on Matthew yet, but he is the primary cleft/craniofacial surgeon and is an excellent doctor. I cannot say enough about the care we have received in Birmingham.....simply amazing. I'll attach a pic of Matthew just before surgery and a recent photo. He is really coming along nicely. We are very proud of him and wouldn't change a thing about him. I believe his cleft makes him special and that he was given to us for a special reason. He certainly has taught me a lot about myself over the past year.

By the way, I lived in Columbus, GA for 6 years and worked for Synovus Financial Corp. How are things down that way?

Here are a couple of pics:

Morning of Surgery:
[IMG]http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k296/manesswm/DSC00864.jpg[/IMG]

Recent:
[IMG]http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k296/manesswm/DSC01472.jpg[/IMG]

[GWH1]

Trying again on the pics.....

Morning of surgery:


Recent:

[john.shimp]

Thanks for the replies. I am happy with Dr. Grant, he is very informative. We have a surgery for CP repair in FEB 07. Columbus is the same. Although I wish it were closer to Birmingham. I have twin boys, and Will is the one with the Cleft. He had his tubes in and now we are preparing ourselves for the repair. I would like to post his pic, but I do not know how to. Thanks again, I think we will stick with Grant. By the way good looking child, the surgery looks like it was a success.

[jacksmom]

Hi! I also live in Birmingham and have a 5 month old with a bilateral cleft palate. We saw Dr. Grant back in August, but we have an appointment scheduled with Dr. Paul Howard for a second opinion. Not that I didn't like Dr. Grant, just trying to explore all of our options! The main difference is that Dr. Howard repairs palates at 6 months, where Dr. Grant waits until 10. In a way, I am ready to get it over with, but want it done right! Please fill me in on any other info you have about Dr. Grant! Has your son had any surgeries yet? We had tubes put in in September, and that has made a BIG difference. But we are still having lots of trouble with reflux and weight gain. Not to mention Jack is still only sleeping 2-3 hours at a time!`

[GWH1]

My son doesn't have any palate issues, so I'm not able to speak from "experience". However, during my research prior to Matthew's birth, I read that early palate repair may be more difficult due simply to the fact that the oral structures are smaller and the PS may not have as much tissue to work with. As you well know, each child and situation is different. I applaud you for exploring all of your options.

As for Dr. Grant and the UAB Cleft Team.......WOW! We think that they are amazing. Dr. Grant has never been in a hurry during consultations, nor was Dr. Gardner. We are a bit sad about losing Dr. Gardner.....he was always so confident and reassuring. But, Dr. Grant has won our confidence and it is evident that he is a very gifted surgeon.

We go back in February 2007 for another check-up. Dr. Grant doesn't want to do any revisions until Matthew is ready to start 1st grade. I think that is awesome.......

Best of luck to you and your family.

Mark