Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Unit

Cleft lip and cleft palate, also known as orofacial cleft, is a group of conditions that includes cleft lip, cleft palate, and both together. Cleft lip and palate occurs in about 1 to 2 per 1000 births in the developed world. Cleft lip is about twice as common in males as females, while cleft palate without cleft lip is more common in females.

In this unit, we provide counseling services to families who have children with cleft lip and palate since pregnancy. Services are carried out to prevent developmental language delays/disorders and to treat speech related problems in this population.

The articulatory structures such as lips, hard palate, soft palate, teeth, and nose may be effected which may cause diminished communication skills. On the other hand, resonance disorders like hypernasality, hyponasality, nasal emission, etc. can also be observed in this group. Speech and language therapist are the major member of team that manage the resonance disorders. The success of speech therapy in cleft lip and palate depends on a multidisciplinary teamwork consisting of plastic surgeon, otolaryngologist, orthodontist, audiologist, psychologist, and speech and language therapist.