What is a cleft lip?

Cleft (Greek for cleft) is a congenital facial abnormality characterized by a cleft or groove in the upper lip (harelip), jaw or palate. The cleft can be limited to the upper lip, but can also extend into the upper jaw, and in the most severe cases into the entire palate up to and including the uvula. A cleft of only the palate or even only the uvula also occurs. The cleft can be one-sided (unilateral) or two-sided (bilateral).

Apart from the fact that a cleft lip is not considered beautiful, there are also other disadvantages. As a baby, the problems start immediately after birth with difficult drinking. Breastfeeding often causes fewer problems than bottle feeding.

When does a cleft lip develop?

A cleft palate develops in the first weeks of pregnancy because the cleft, which is a normal phase in embryonic development, does not close.

Cleft lip and palate occurs in 1 to 2 out of every 500 children born in Peru (in the Netherlands, approximately 350 children are born with a cleft lip and palate each year). The cause of cleft lip and palate is not entirely known, but it is known that a genetic element plays a role: if one of the parents has a form of cleft lip and palate, the chance increases to 7%.

The difference between the Netherlands and Peru

In contrast to the Netherlands, the treatment of cleft lip and palate in Peru is rarely covered by insurance, sometimes the closure of the lip, but nothing more. While children with a cleft lip and palate must be treated by a team of specialists: the cleft team. PAZHolandesa has such teams. The teams include specialists in the fields of pediatrics, plastic surgery, orthodontics, ENT, speech therapy, oral and maxillofacial surgery, special dentistry and psychology.