Author: Dr. Edwin Paul Magallona

Cleft lip is a facial and oral malformation that occurs very early in pregnancy, while the baby is developing inside the mother's womb. In the early weeks of development, long before a child is born, the right and left sides of the lip and the roof of the mouth normally grow together. Occasionally, however, in about one of every 800 babies, those sections do not quite meet. A child born with a separation in the upper lip is said to have the so-called cleft lip.

If your child was born with this condition, your doctor will probably recommend surgery to repair it. Most clefts can be repaired through specialized plastic surgery techniques, improving your child's ability to eat, speak, hear and breathe, and to restore a more normal appearance and function. This repair would not just enhance your child's ability to eat and speak but it would also give her the chance to have a normal life.

A cleft lip can range in severity from a slight notch in the red part of the upper lip to a complete separation of the lip extending into the nose. Clefts can occur on one or both sides of the upper lip. Surgery is generally done when the child is about 10 weeks old so the baby is bigger and better able to tolerate surgery.. To repair a cleft lip, the surgeon will make an incision on either side of the cleft from the mouth into the nostril. He or she will then turn the dark pink outer portion of the cleft down and pull the muscle and the skin of the lip together to close the separation. Muscle function and the normal "cupid's bow" shape of the mouth are restored. The nostril deformity often associated with cleft lip may also be improved at the time of lip repair or in a later surgery.

When surgery is done by a qualified plastic surgeon with experience in repairing cleft lip, the results can be really quite positive. Nevertheless, as with any operation, there are risks associated with surgery and specific complications associated with this procedure. In cleft lip surgery, the most common problem is asymmetry, when one side of the mouth and nose does not match the other side. The goal of cleft lip surgery is to close the separation in the first operation. Occasionally, a second operation may be needed to put balance into the child's facial features.

About the Author

Dr. Edwin Paul V. Magallona is a board certified Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeon born in Quezon City and raised in the university town of Laguna. He spent his secondary and collegiate years in the University of the Philippines at Los Banos. Since realizing his inclination in the biological sciences, he graduated with a degree of B.S. Biology, major in Cell Biology in 1990.

He then pursued his medical education at the DeLa Salle University College of Medicine and obtained the degree in 1994.

After a year of postgraduate internship at the Makati Medical Center and passing the August 1994 medical board exams, he decided to further train for 5 years in the specialty ofGeneral Surgery at the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center. And immediately after completion of training, he decided to further subspecialize with another 3 years in Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery under the Consortium I program (consisting of UERMMMC, Makati Medical Center, Veterans Memorial Medical Center, Rizal Medical Center).

He passed and topped the written examination and later successfully completed the oral examination given by the Philippine Board of Plastic Surgery, the only organization that looks over fellowship and resident training and ultimately officially certified plastic surgeon.

 

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