BernabeCamachoVentura

Mrs.Rosen
BiomedicalInnovations
7February2016
CleftLipandCleftPalateAnomaliesLiteratureReview
CleftLipandCleftPalateisabirthdefectwithintheoralcavity,specificallywithinthe
palates,thataffectsnewbornsgloballyfromtheUnitedStates,Africa,AsiaandMexico.Both
CleftLipandCleftPalatecauseharshconditionsfornewborns,thisincludestroubleeating,
breathingandspeaking.CleftLipandCleftPalate,ifuntreatedsurgically,cancauseinfectionsof
theear/hearinglossanddentalcomplicationswhichmayleadtosevereconsequencesandmay
befatalovertime.CleftLipandCleftPalateisacraniofacialanomalythatiscausedbymultiple
factorsfromthemomentofconceptiontothegestationalperiod,resultsinvariedcomplications
thataffectsanewbornslifestyle,andistreatedsurgicallyseveraltimestoallowanindividualto
fullyrecovertoanormalstate.
TheexactcauseofCleftLipandCleftPalatestillremainsunknownbuttherearemany
factorsbothgeneticandenvironmentalthatcanincreaseanewborn'schanceofbeingbornwith
thisanomaly.CleftLipandCleftPalatecanbelinkedwithinheritedgeneticsfromthenewborns
parents.Asstatedinanarticle,CleftLipandPalate,Arethoughttobecausedbyacombination
ofgenes(CDC).NotonlyisCleftLipandPalatecausedbymixedgenesbutcanpossiblybe
linkedtoteratogenswhichareinhabitedbythemotherduringpregnancy.Theseenvironmental
factorsmayincludebutarenotlimitedto,usageoftoxinsincludingalcohol,cocaine,cigarettes
andspecificmedicationsorhavingadisease,inparticular,diabetes.AlthoughthecauseofCleft
LipandPalateisnotevident,itishoweverobviousthatanindividualshouldbecautiousduring

thepregnancyperiodtowhatisconsumedortheirmedical/geneticcondition.EventhoughCleft
LipandPalatecannotbeprevented,itisimportanttotakemeasuresanddecreasethechancesof
eithercausingorpassingtoanoffspring.
OnceanindividualisbornwithCleftLipandCleftPalate,therearemanydifficultiesthat
arisethatcanaffectspeech,breathingandeatinghabits.AlthoughallformsofCleftresultin
somesortofproblemwiththelifestyleofanewborn,thedegreevariesbythesizeandlocation
ofthecleft.ThemaincomplicationsinvolvedwithCleftLipandCleftPalateincludebreathing,
feedingandspeechdifficulties,earinfectionsandhearingloss.Tofurtherexplain,whenCleft
LipandPalateoccurs,thelipand/orpalatesfailedtofuseresultinginasplitorseparationwithin
theoralcavitythatdoesnotallowaproperpassagewayforoxygentoflowthroughout.Thissplit
makesitdifficultforanindividualtobreatheproperlyasstated,Whenthepalateandjaware
malformed,breathingbecomesdifficult(AAO).Anotherdifficultyisfeedingandspeech
delays,whicharecausedbecauseofthesplitonthepalatesandlips.Whenthepalatesdonot
fuse,anopeningispresentcausingfoodoranyliquidstodispersethroughouttheoraland
possiblynasalcavity.Withoutproperfeedingoreatingtechniques,foodcanbecomedislodged
indifferentareasandmaycausingbacterialinfections.Speechisaffectedwhenanindividualhas
CleftLip,inparticular,asasplitlippreventsproperpronunciationofsoundsandwordsas
mentionedinanarticle,Normaldevelopmentofthelipsandpalateareessentialforachildto
properlyformsoundsandspeakclearly(AAO).Apartfromhavingdifficultyperformingoral
tasks,anindividualwithCleftLipandCleftPalatecandeveloppossibleearinfectionsand
hearingloss.Earinfectionsandhearinglossarecausedbytheincreasedpossibilityoffluidsin

themiddleearwhichcanmaketheearpronetoinfections.Thisthenleadstohearinglosswhich
isworsenedbypersistentmiddleearfluidsandconstantearinfections.
EventhoughCleftLipandCleftPalatecannotbefullyprevented,itcanbetreated
surgicallytorepairandclosethesplitandseparationonthepalateandlip.Themostcommon
andeffectivewaytorepairCleftLipandCleftPalateistoperformsurgeryontheindividuals
mouthandclosethesplitwhetheritistheliporpalate.DependingontheseverityoftheCleft,
theamountofsurgerieswillvaryandtimeforrecoverywilllengthen.AstheCleftsworsen,
moresurgerieswillbeneededtomaintainproperoralstructureandtofixanyneededpartsofthe
outermouth.Typically,thesurgeryis,Usuallydonebetween10and12weeksofage(AAO).
ForindividualswithonlyCleftPalate,Palatoplastyisperformedalongwithadditionalfollowup
surgeries.FormostCleftLipandCleftPalatepatients,therapysessionsareneededforspeech
improvementandpropereatingtechniques.Finally,bothformsofCleftcanbetreatedsurgically
andmayrequireadditionalsurgeriesandtherapeuticsessionsdependingontheseverity.
Throughouttheessay,themanyaspectsofCleftLipandCleftPalateareexaminedto
identifythepossiblecauses,complicationsandtreatments.CleftPalateisananomalythatis
affectedthousandsofnewbornsfromdifferentcountries.Aspreviouslystated,eventhoughitis
notpossibletocompletelypreventit,wecanstilltakeprecautionsandperformsurgeriesthatwill
helptheoralstructurerecoverproperlytoregainahealthylifestyle.Toconclude,CleftLipand
CleftPalateareongoinganomaliesthatwillcontinuetoplaguecountries,butwehavetheability
topreventitandtreatitafterithasoccurred.

WorksCited
1. Molsted,K.(n.d.).TreatmentOutcomeinCleftLipandPalate:IssuesandPerspectives.
RetrievedFebruary06,2016,fromhttp://cro.sagepub.com/content/10/2/225.short
2. FactsaboutCleftLipandCleftPalate.(2015).RetrievedFebruary06,2016,from
http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/birthdefects/cleftlip.html
3. CleftLipandCleftPalate.(2014).RetrievedFebruary06,2016,from
http://www.entnet.org/content/cleftlipandcleftpalate.
4. Fraser,F.C.(n.d.).Thegeneticsofcleftlipandcleftpalate.RetrievedFebruary06,2016,
fromhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1706547/
5. Ardinger,H.H.,Buetow,K.H.,Bell,G.I.,Bardach,J.,VanDemark,D.R.,&Murray,J.
C.(n.d.).Associationofgeneticvariationofthetransforminggrowthfactoralphagene
withcleftlipandpalate.RetrievedFebruary06,2016,from
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1683414/
6. MarquisConverse,J.,Hogan,M.,&McCarthy,J.G.(n.d.).CleftLipandCleftPalate:
Introduction.
CLEFTLIPANDPALATE:INTRODUCTION
.RetrievedFebruary5,2016,
fromhttp://premaks.tripod.com/ENT/Converse/conv38.pdf