Cleft Palate:

Cleft Palate & Cleft Lip Treatment in the Valley

By Dr. Carlos Cruz, DDS
Director
Cleft and Craniofacial Team
Valley Baptist Medical Center -Harlingen

A condition called cleft palate can make it hard for children to eat and to swallow food, as well as cause speech problems and potential emotional problems because of disfigurement of a child’s face. The good news is that comprehensive treatment, including cleft palate surgery, is available in the Valley through a highly-specialized medical and dental team.

Because of the services provided by the Craniofacial, Cleft Lip and Palate Team of the Children’s Center at Valley Baptist, Valley children no longer have to travel to San Antonio or Corpus Christi for treatment of cleft palate. The medical team is based at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen, and also taps into the resources of the University of Texas Health Science Center-San Antonio’s Regional Academic Health Center, located across the street from VBMC.

Cleft lip appears as a vertical split in the upper lip. In some children, the cleft lip is as small as a notch, while in others it can run all the way to the nose. In addition, some babies have two splits, one on each side of the nose. If these gaps extend to along the roof of the mouth, the condition is called cleft palate.

Infants with cleft palate may regurgitate milk through their nose instead of their mouth. They may also have trouble drinking milk from a bottle. In older children, the gap can extend all the way behind their teeth. The emotional problems caused by the appearance of the child’s face can become more severe if cleft palate is left untreated as the child matures.

Treatment to correct a cleft palate often begins at birth. In some cases, a plate has to be placed on the roof of the baby’s mouth prior to feedings. Surgery to correct a cleft lip is often performed three months after the child’s birth.

For a cleft palate, surgery is usually performed 18 to 24 months after birth. Early treatment can help prevent speech problems. If speech problems are evident, the child will need speech therapy.

The multi-disciplinary Cleft - Craniofacial Team includes dentists, medical doctors, audiologists, speech/language therapists, and social workers at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen. It is important for a person born with a cleft lip or cleft palate to have access to all the medical disciplines.

For more information about the Cleft and Craniofacial Clinic, please contact Dr. Carlos Cruz, DDS; at (956) 428-4258, or by e-mail at Carlos.Cruz@valleybaptist.net. or Rosemary Perkins, RN, Cleft Palate Coordinator at the Matt & Patty Gorges Children’s Center at Valley Baptist, at (956) 389-5127.

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