Members of the Duke Cleft Lip and Palate Team have created
this information to answer some of your immediate questions. As
a parent of a child with cleft lip and/or cleft palate, you
will be dealing with changing issues as your child grows and
develops.
The information herein applies to children at various ages
and stages of development.
This material may also be useful in answering questions for
friends, relatives, teachers, and others. You may want to give
some of these people an opportunity to read about cleft lip and
cleft palate. Please feel free to share this information,
particularly with people who will spend a lot of time with your
child.
While this Web site will answer many of your questions, your
cleft team also stands ready to provide any information you may
need as your child develops. If you have questions or concerns,
you should always feel free to get in touch. You do not have to
wait for the next team visit. Call or write any of the team
members any time.
You are our priority. We are here to help you.
Special Terms
As you talk with cleft lip and palate team specialists, they
may use unfamiliar terms to describe the anatomy, speech, and
hearing of your child. In the interest of clear communication
between us, some of the special terms will be defined in the
glossary.
Cleft Lip and Palate Team
The team approach is the standard of care for children with
cleft lip and/or palate; it provides the means to give you and
your child coordinated and specialized care.
A cleft team consists of several experienced specialists.
They will evaluate, treat, and provide regular check-ups for
your child. These specialists come from many fields involved in
the treatment of clefts. The Duke University Team is led by a
pediatric plastic surgeon and has, as its core, members from
plastic surgery, otolaryngology, audiology, speech pathology,
oral surgery. Other team members include specialists from
craniofacial surgery, orthodontia, psychology, pediatrics,
genetics, and pediatric dentistry. The reason so many
professionals experienced with clefts are necessary is that the
treatment of cleft lip and/or palate is complex and, in most
cases, cannot adequately be provided by any one specialist. Not
all of these specialists will be involved with your child at
every visit or evaluation, but they are there if they are
needed.
Since not all clefts are alike, different clefts may call
for different treatment. In addition, since children change
with growth, evaluations and treatments will be related to the
age of the child. The team approach to treating cleft lip and
cleft palate provides for special attention from appropriate
specialists as needed throughout the treatment process. This is
a good reason to have periodic Team check-ups as your child
grows and matures.
For more information:, call 919.681.8555 / fax:
919.681.9486
Or write to: Duke Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Box 3974 DUMC
Durham, NC 27710
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to the following people for their
contributions to the text of these pages:
Jeffrey R. Marcus MD, Edward Clifford, PhD, Robert Mason,
DDS, PhD, Penny Mirret, MA, John E. Riski, PhD, Gregory Ruff,
MD, Bruce Weber, PhD.
Illustrations by V. Susan Tanner, Original publication's
MSMI and graphic design by Gail G. Ingram of Duke University
Medical Center, Division of Audiovisual Education. Web site
design by Julie McKeel of Duke University Health System,
Division of Web Services.
Copyright 1998/2003. Division of Plastic &
Reconstructive Surgery, Duke University Medical Center.
Duke Guide to Care of Children with Cleft Conditions
