This 6yr old boy was born with a cleft lip and palate deformity. He was operated for cleft lip repair at the age of 3 months and the palate repair was done at the age of 9 months. Speech counseling was followed up diligently. The surgeries left no wide scars or any sort of surgical mark. The mother is so happy when she says the boy’s aesthetics, speech and functions are good enough that he goes to school, mingles with his schoolmates, and performs equally well at social activities.
He is planned for further surgeries stage wise, for him to become an independent confident adult. The success of the treatment of cleft anomalies is multifactorial. It depends on the infant’s general health, the timing of the surgery, the surgical technique used, the post-operative care given, the successive surgeries are done as the child grows, teeth alignment, bone grafting, speech therapy, etc. Only if…
