Cleft lip and palate

Oro-facial clefts are among the most common birth defects.

Cleft lip with or without cleft palate is approximately twice as common as isolated cleft palate.

The majority of cleft lip deformities are associated with a varying degree of nasal deformity.

Oro-facial clefts can occur in isolation or as a component of an identifiable syndrome.

The aetiology of cleft lip and palate involves a variety of genetic and environmental factors that result in variable expressions of oro-facial clefting.

Comprehensive care involves a multi-disciplinary cleft team with specialists from fields such as facial plastic surgery, genetics, nursing, speech-language pathology, orthodontics, dentistry, oral surgery, audiology, and paediatrics.

An oro-facial cleft is an abnormal opening secondary to developmental failure in utero. Cleft lip with or without cleft palate can be unilateral or bilateral, and occurs in a variety of combinations with variable expression in the nose, lip, alveolus, and primary and secondary palates. Diminutive expressions of cleft lip and/or palate are known as microform, occult, minor, or forme fruste (aborted form).