This is an automatically translated article.
The article was professionally consulted with Master, Specialist I Tran Tuyen - Pediatrician - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology, Vinmec Central Park International General Hospital.Currently, in Vietnam, the rate of children with cleft palate accounts for about 0.1%; If left untreated, it will affect aesthetics, speech, eating and the risk of causing some respiratory diseases. Cleft palate is treated surgically, but it is not necessary to perform surgery soon after birth.
1. Congenital cleft palate
Cleft palate is the most common birth defect in children, this defect can be inherited from parents or causes during pregnancy, about 4 to 12 weeks of pregnancy. fetus.This deformity is not life-threatening but causes difficulties in eating, communication and the ability to integrate into society.
When cleft palate will cause effects on children such as:
Facial aesthetics: Due to the cleft, it deforms lips, nose, alveolar bone, jawbone, tooth dislocation, misalignment Functional activities abilities such as hearing, slurred speech, difficulty suckling, difficulty eating. Children do not receive enough nourishment, leading to underdevelopment, susceptible to upper respiratory tract diseases and otitis media. Psychological effects of children: low self-esteem, inferiority complex, fear of communication, dropping out of school... comprehensively developed. Cleft palate is often detected before birth by fetal ultrasound. After birth, due to the influence of cleft lip or cleft palate, babies are difficult to suckle and prone to respiratory diseases, so parents need to go to a medical facility for advice on how to feed their baby through breastfeeding. Natural or suitable bottle feeding for children, instructions on how to prevent ear, nose and throat diseases for children.
Some children need pre-operative orthopedic treatment with an arch-adjustable retainer... These appliances make the surgical process more efficient and feeding the child easier.
Dị tật hở hàm ếch
2. Timing of cleft palate surgery
The timing of cleft palate surgery depends on each case, if the cleft lip is cleft, the time is sooner because the surgery is less complicated than the cleft palate surgery.2.1 For cleft lip case it is 3 - 6 months. Children are monitored for growth in height and weight, when they meet the weight and health criteria, they will have surgery to close the cleft lip.
Surgery helps restore and close the cleft lip, helping the child to have the normal shape of the lips, the height of the lips and the wings of the nose. In addition, children can affect hearing, so children need to be periodically evaluated for their response to sounds, early detection and treatment of otitis media that can affect their hearing.
2.2 For cleft palate surgery, it is from 12 to 18 months. Surgery to close the nasopharynx, ensure swallowing and speech functions, and prevent ear complications.. Before surgery, the child must They learned to eat with a spoon and adapted to spoon feeding, because at first after surgery, babies were not bottle-fed or breast-fed in order to avoid incisions or post-operative bleeding.
3. Why should not surgery too early?
Không nên phẫu thuật cho trẻ bị khe hở môi quá sớm
When the child is too young, the health condition is not guaranteed to perform an operation, the post-operative care encounters many difficulties, especially especially difficult to nurture, prolong the recovery time. Before surgery, the child must be healthy, usually the time to choose surgery for cleft lip is 5kg or more, with the jaw cleft is over 10kg. Children are too young, the anatomical structures are not clear, it will be difficult for the surgeon in the process of determining the anatomy. With cleft palate, the time from 12-18 months the child is not too young to perform an operation and it is also the time when the child begins to practice pronunciation. During this time, surgery to help the palate recover well, the child will be less likely to be livid, after surgery, if he is well trained in speech, the pronunciation results will be very high. Children with cleft palate before surgery need time to get used to eating with a spoon, because after surgery, children will not be able to eat by sucking or sucking. When children learn to eat spoon too early, it will be difficult to feed and not ensure adequate nutrition. Surgery too early in the first weeks after birth is not necessary, if surgery too early can cause difficulties during surgery, the baby is not healthy enough for surgery and the ability to recover is poor.
However, it should not be too late because when the child is young, the success rate is high due to easier surgery and less bleeding. During the period from postpartum until surgery, the mother should go to a medical facility for advice on how to feed and care for the baby to ensure adequate nutrition and limit respiratory diseases.
Orthopedic surgery is a method of treating cleft palate that is being widely applied today. Surgery to facilitate the development of the lips, nose, and upper jaw for the child during normal development time in the future.
Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital is considered as a hospital with modern investment facilities and a team of experienced and qualified doctors and experts, which is a reliable address for medical professionals. Parents when sending children to visit and treat.
Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.
