Cleft lips

The cleft concerns only the lip, on one side it is called a unilateral cleft lip (photo 1), or on both sides, it is then a bilateral cleft lip (photo 2).

An indentation on the gum is possible. The nose can be deformed, this happens more often in the unilateral forms than bilateral. The cleft lip is repaired in one operation (see Treatment, the lip), if the nose is deformed it is corrected at the same time as the lip, a nostril shaper is then put in place for a few months (see Treatment, the nostril shaper).

With the cleft lip, there is no feeding problem. Breastfeeding is possible. There are no speech disorders, the phonation is normal, the palate and the veil have not been affected by the cleft. But there may be anomalies in the number and shape of the teeth, the lateral incisor on the side of the slit may be absent or split