Cleft Palate

A cleft palate occurs when the embryonic components of the roof of the mouth fail to fully form. The condition occurs in many variations. The cleft may involve just the soft palate, or the hard palate, or both. It may be on one side of the mouth, or on both. The gum line where the teeth emerge may or may not be involved.

Because cleft palates vary greatly from child to child, the surgical repair also varies. Similar to cleft lip repair, the procedure requires multiple steps. The first entails the closure of the soft palate, which is performed at about ten to twelve months of age. The surgery closes the cleft, lengthens the palate and reorients the muscles. Sometimes, children will have a prosthesis placed over the hard palate cleft until the age of three to four years, at which time the hard palate will be repaired.

If necessary, further surgery will be needed to repair a cleft of the gum line when the child is approximately six years of age. Cleft palate surgical procedures are performed in the hospital using general anesthesia, and they require a short stay during recovery, usually one to two days.