Congenital cleft lip is the most prevalent congenital facial and maxillofacial developmental malformation found, with a statistically higher prevalence of 500-600:1 in the Asian population compared to the Caucasian population, a staggering number for a country with such a large population. So if you find out that your child has a cleft lip, don’t panic, let alone panic. The first thing to be sure of is: cleft lip can be treated, and the treatment can be very effective!
With the continuous development of medical and technological level in China, prenatal checkups can be done very well in ordinary cities in China. Many parents often choose to terminate the pregnancy once the child is found to have a possible or suspected cleft lip during ultrasound; or parents are not in a position to do maternity checkups, and many will choose to abandon the child once the child is found to be born with this condition. There are three possible reasons for this phenomenon: 1. lack of awareness of cleft lip as a terrible incurable disease; 2. fear of causing pain to the family and the child and the corresponding financial burden of medical treatment; 3. backwardness in education leading to prejudice against the disease in many places, considering it as a kind of karma, etc.
This is undoubtedly the sadness of our national medicine. So secondly, I would like to clarify that cleft lip is simply a congenital developmental malformation, the cause of which is not clear at present; more than 99% of children with cleft lip have normal intellectual and physical development, and can grow, work and live healthily as normal children through surgical repair.
Of course, everyone wants to have a healthy baby, but once a baby is found to have a cleft lip, the cleft is on the baby’s mouth, but also on the parents’ heart, and parents and relatives of children with cleft lip and palate have to bear the unimaginable mental and psychological pressure. As a plastic surgeon specializing in craniomaxillofacial direction, I feel that I have the responsibility and obligation to do a good job of psychological guidance for the parents of these children; I also have the confidence to provide the most professional treatment guidance for your child to minimize the impact of this cleft.
Japan and Taiwan are at the forefront of cleft lip treatment in Asia, and I will try my best to introduce and share some of my experiences in Japan studying cleft lip and palate in the coming period, hoping to be helpful to those who need it.