Newborn cleft palate: how is this malformation of the palate of the little ones treated?
Cleft palate of the newborn is a malformation of various degrees that can involve the lips, soft palate and hard palate. Typically this type of malformation has genetic causes and requires surgery. It is important to identify it in order to proceed with a timely surgery that makes sucking breast milk easier. Every baby is a discovery: watch the video and discover the good rules of hygiene for the little ones!
- · Isolated newborn cleft palate, cleft lip, cleft lip, bifid uvula
- Cleft palate newborn: can it be discovered during pregnancy?
- Cleft palate newborn: the consequent pathologies and possible difficulties for new parents
- Cleft palate in newborn: therapies and surgery
Newborn cleft palate isolated, cleft lip, cleft lip, bifid uvula
When both lip and palate are altered, it is called cleft lip and palate. Cleft lip or "cleft lip" in many babies consists of a cleft on the upper lip, others have a larger crack or hole that can reach the nasal area. It is caused in the embryonic stage by anomalies in the welding of the three structures that give rise to the lip. Cleft palate (cleft palate) is also an "anomaly that occurs in the embryonic phase (embryogenesis). When the joining of the two parts that form the palate does not occur or is only partially formed, there is cleft, which means interruption The cleft palate creates a crack in the palate, through which the mouth and nose communicate and sometimes this communication also involves the ears. Abnormalities in the joint of the palate can also involve the upper lip, upper gum and uvula. The cleft of the deepest part of the soft palate is called bifid uvula: the cleft can be partial or total and in this case the uvula divided into two parts.
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Cleft palate in newborn: can it be discovered during pregnancy?
It is a malformation caused by various factors, even if many still attribute it to unknown causes. In 20% of cases it is attributed a genetic origin; other causes may relate to hereditary factors concomitant with the mother's diabetes, her consumption of a lot of alcohol, drugs and anticonvulsant drugs during pregnancy. Folic acid taken during the months of pregnancy can help prevent cleft palate. With ultrasound during pregnancy it is possible to diagnose cleft palate in the prenatal phase. In some cases, when there is an isolated cleft palate, the diagnosis is not certain and can only be made after birth. Cleft palate is quite a pathology. rare; it involves a maxillofacial malformation, a difficulty in breastfeeding and swallowing due to malformation of the esophagus. The isolated cleft palate does not involve the upper lip and the gum. Its differentiations are: submucosal cleft palate, cleft palate hard, cleft veil, bifid uvula . When in addition to the cleft palate there are other malformations we speak of more serious, complex syndromes. Many syndromes have cleft palate in their symptoms. Pierre Robin Syndrome reduces the development of the jaw, with growth of the same downwards and towards the area behind (retrognazìa), often associated with cleft palate and glossoptosis, i.e. an anus position evil of the tongue. All of this involves problems with breathing, sucking and speaking. Also the Van Der Woude Syndrome, another genetic pathology, causes morphological anomalies of the structure of the face and so also the Velo-Cardio-Facial Syndrome, due to the deletion of chromosome 22. Other forms concern the incomplete welding of the palatal muscles or an opening in the submucosa and bone (submucosal cleft palate). Phonation problems also occur with this pathology. A mild form of cleft palate affects only the soft palate. It is also referred to as a cleft of the veil. As the openings are in some cases covered by an apparently healthy mucosa, it is difficult to make a sure diagnosis not only during pregnancy, but also after birth. This is certain when milk leaks from the baby's nostrils while breastfeeding. The opening is more serious and more complex to resolve in the total cleft palate, with the opening of the whole palate, both soft and hard.
Newborn cleft palate: the consequent pathologies and possible difficulties for new parents
Cleft palate can cause consequent pathologies concerning otolaryngology (frequent otitis of the middle ear, hypoacusis); dentistry (extra teeth, dental dystrophies, missing teeth and with bad occlusion due to an abnormal growth of the jaw bone; pediatrics (poor sucking and swallowing of the child; in complex cases, food can be sucked into the respiratory tract with the risk of suffocation and lung infections; speech therapy (difficulty in articulating sounds due to alterations in phonation, for example rhinolalia (nasal voice) . Babies with this congenital malformation of the palate, and sometimes of the gum and upper lip as well, cannot easily receive their mother's milk feeding while breastfeeding. The new mother must use her finger or pacifier to stimulate the baby to suck the breast.When the diagnosis is confirmed, parents should get in touch with experts who can do not help them in this difficult therapeutic path, which will initially give them instructions to proceed with breastfeeding, and later also with speech therapists and other specialists in the field. To breastfeed infants with this pathology, football position "or" rugby position "is adopted. In addition, the mother must learn to make him lower his tongue, before attaching him to the breast, filling the cleft with the skin of the breast to prevent milk from coming out of the nose, and then pressing the milk into the baby's mouth with his hand. more complex it is necessary to proceed to feed the newborns with syringes or droppers or ultimately with the nasogastric tube.
Cleft palate in newborn: therapies and surgery
These malformations can be resolved with various interventions by a team of specialized surgeons. The first will be followed by others, to eliminate the anomalies that may arise during the growth of the child. To give the newborn baby adequate nutrition, it is necessary to breastfeed him with teats specially designed for breastfeeding; in addition, to allow him to suckle, doctors will have to apply prostheses to create an artificial palate, in order to close the fissure or cleft. These prostheses are attached to the mucosa with fixing pastes of the type that are used to make dental prostheses stable. This type of orthodontic therapy must be started from the first days after birth.
The application of a plate under the palate also favors a straightening of the arches of the gums, making the subsequent surgery even easier.
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