Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Entertainment | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

A thought for that chink in the lips

YET SO ATTRACTIVE A child with a cleft lip PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

At an age when bigger infirmities get all the notice, this one is down the list. But unfortunately, those who suffer from it or their dear ones who see them living with it would vouch that a cleft face is one of the worst fates someone may suffer. Research has found that every two minutes, a child with a cleft lip is born somewhere in the world, 35,000 of whom are reportedly born every year in India and 2.5 million of them are awaiting treatment in the country alone.

Saving a thought for this in-born malformation, Mahesh Mangal, Senior Consultant and Plastic Surgeon, Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi, explains, "Clefts are mainly of three types - cleft lip without a cleft palate, cleft palate without a cleft lip, cleft lip and cleft palate together." And the causes he names for it include intake of drugs and even vitamin deficiency in the expecting mother. To add a description in simple words, a cleft lip is a split in the upper lip. A cleft palate is a split in the roof of the mouth. This leaves a hole between the nose and the mouth. Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects, which means that they occur while a baby is developing inside the womb. Sometimes, the condition may arise because of heredity as well. Dental problems such as funny-shaped or missing teeth often occur with clefts involving the upper gum or palate.

The cure

Not that there lies no hope for kids who get a cleft lip or a cleft palate. Mangal says, "The treatment takes place in stages and the results can be seen mostly after multiple surgeries. Also, treatment cannot be started immediately after the child is born, but usually after three months." "An infant with a cleft lip and palate cannot suck and is difficult to breastfeed, thus, his lip cleft can be operated when he is three months old and the palate, when he is seven to eight months old," he describes.

Doctors suggest that the most sensible approach to avoid cleft is to encourage healthy pregnancy and avoiding known dangers such as alcohol and smoking. Some experts believe that taking a supplement of folic acid and multivitamins may also help a great deal. Children suffering from such malformations aren't able to smile or laugh, the way normal children do. "The upper jaw is mainly corrected, with an orthodontist's help, with braces or certain extensions. Also, bone grafting is extensively used when the child is seven to eight years old," states Mangal.

Cleft, if not treated, may lead to problems in breathing, food in-take, hearing and speaking disorders of the infant, warn doctors.

But a reassuring factor is, there are quite a few organisations working for the benefit of children with cleft lips across the world. One of them is The Smile Train, an international children's charity, dedicated to help millions of children in the world who suffer from cleft lip and palate. They support hundreds of cleft treatment, training and research programs in more than 55 countries including India. According to the organisation, with its help, local doctors provide free surgeries for poor children every day. Unlike other cleft organizations, The Smile Train teams stay in a country for two weeks, operate on as many children as possible and then fly home besides training local surgeons and medical professionals in developing countries to perform the surgery themselves.

Heartening isn't it at an age when all the notice is on bigger infirmities?

SAKSHI KHATTAR

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail