A Child born with a cut lip and palate is probably the commonest birth defect a plastic surgeon comes across.

According to an estimate, one in every 700 birth the child is born with a cut of the lip and / or palate. For this birth defect, we shall use the word "Cleft" which is used by the doctors to describe it. The condition is also known as "Hare Lip". Plastic surgeons all over the world now use the term ‘Cleft Lip’ instead of ‘Hare Lip’. Hare or rabbit has a central cut of lip whereas the cleft in such patients is generally on one of the sides. We would also not like to compare these children with hare and make them subject of ridicule.

Depending on the severity of the defect the operation could be simple or challenging for even the most experienced plastic surgeon.

Though the cleft is a very common condition, there is a noticeable absence of literature prepared to inform and educate the patients’ relatives. The cleft affects the child in more than one way. The child can have defective hearing, speech problems, problems with dentition, etc.,. It is very important to diagnose and treat all these problems early enough to prevent permanent deformity. This book let is written to create an awareness amongst the parents that this is not simply a cosmetic deformity. The booklet is also an attempt to provide some answers to the questions that may come up from the parents. If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact Nishtha Clinic.

To begin with, lips and palate in all babies during pregnancy are separate. At some time during 4th to 8th week of pregnancy, the process of union takes place. Due to some reasons, in some babies the lip and/ or palate fail to unite. The condition that results, is known as cleft.

According to the current knowledge, we do not exactly know the factor or factors responsible for clefts. The clefts running in familles is an uncommon findings. Some diseases during pregnancy can cause clefts along with other congenital deformities. However presence of these diseases does not always lead to cleft.

The cleft is more common in India and other Asian countries, whereas, least common in Africa. The western countries report an incidence that is somewhat midway.

If the first child is born with cleft, the chances of second child being born with cleft are more, but it is not always so that the second child will be having the cleft.

Parents are in no way responsible for the cleft. When cleft occurs in twin pregnancy, one child is born with the cleft and other is normal. If a parental factor is responsible, then both the children should be having clefts. Hence factors like, mother’s diet, habits, etc., are not responsible. Parents should therefore not feel guilty about the deformity.

When a child is born with visible deformity, people around will be asking about the condition. Parents should not have any complex under such circumstances. They should explain them that every child has a cleft during pregnancy, cleft is an arrest in development, the cleft will be repaired by plastic surgeon etc.,.

Cleft children do not have any mental retardation. If child paid amount of attention paid to a normal sibling, he/she can be completely normal. In fact, studies have shown that proportion of cleft children becoming doctors, engineers, scientists, managers, etc., is as good as among the normal children.

Problems of parents and family members of the cleft patients are understandable. But it has been shown by research that a positive attitude of all family members is very important in psychological development of the patient. The family should play and behave with the child without any discrimination. All the ceremonies like first birthday, "Moondan", etc., should be celebrated as for a normal child. When the patient grows up and finds from the photographs that his events were not celebrated, he may develop some complex.

The child should also be encouraged to participate in sports and extracurricular activities. This will help not only the patient but the teachers and classmates also, to realize that the child is as good as others, physically as well as mentally.