Cleft lip and palate

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. They are among the most common birth defects.

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).