How we work
How we work with children with cleft palate
Children with cleft palate are treated by a multidisciplinary team. Such a team includes a pediatrician, a plastic surgeon, a dentist, a speech therapist, an oral surgeon, a psychologist and an orthodontist.
Surgical closure of the lip at the age of 3 to 6 months
Surgical closure of the palate at the age of 9 to 16 months
Surgical closure of the alveolar cleft at approximately 8 to 11 years of age (when the root of the cuspid is ¾ rounded off)
The latter is done with the chin, hip or rib bone (depending on the size of the gap).
Various other surgeries, including speech-correcting surgery (pharyngeal plasty), are often necessary for more extensive forms of cleft lip and palate (more than a cleft lip).
Sometimes cosmetic surgery has to be performed at a later age, for example a correction of the nostril or of the scar tissue in the upper lip, due to psychological problems.
Patient intake consisting of medical examination and determination of the treatment plan by the project coordinator, a socio-economic investigation by the social worker.
Costs: €25
Preoperative examination consists of diagnostic examinations such as X-rays or CT scan and laboratory tests
Costs: between €5 and €100
Operation by one of the Dutch or Spanish medical teams.
Costs: €250
Postoperative check-up and start of the aftercare project (speech lessons, dental care and psychological treatment).
Costs: €75 per year
Follow-up operations if necessary and after each new operation the aftercare project follows again.
Costs: €250 per operation
and €75,- one year aftercare
Most children leave the project when they become young adults between the ages of 18 and 21.
Costs: average per
child € 1500,-