Families impacted by cleft lip and palate find hope with a dedicated M Health Fairview care team
When you think of orofacial clefting, you might imagine a child with a cleft lip. Maybe you’ve seen a picture on a billboard, or in a TV commercial. It’s not just a cosmetic issue. Clefting can affect feeding, speech, and more.
Siva Chinnadurai, MD, MPH is a Cleft Surgeon, Pediatric Otolaryngologist and Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He and his partner, Luke Jakubowski, MD, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology and Medical Director of the M Health Fairview cleft team, work closely with a multidisciplinary team caring for children with cleft lip, cleft palate and other craniofacial conditions at our Lions Hearing and Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Clinic, next to MHealth Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital.
Cleft lip and cleft palate is the most common congenital head and neck condition. This happens when an opening between the nose and mouth, or the nose and the roof of the mouth does not close properly. These conditions have long-lasting impacts on children, including their facial appearance, ability to eat and breathe, their speech and bite.
“People often think of this as a childhood disease,” Chinnadurai said. “But it care extends through childhood into early adulthood.”
Early intervention with a dedicated team of providers is key to setting families on the right path. We sat down with Chinnadurai who explained how he and his team do just that.
Intervention begins before child is born
Cleft lip and palate are frequently detected on ultrasounds during pregnancy. Those children and their families will be referred to us prenatally so we can begin counseling them before their baby is born. In addition to meeting with our surgeons, we have feeding specialists who help prepare parents with counseling and education before their baby is born. We’ve seen how much this helps parents retain and understand all this new information, and most importantly, it really reduces their stress and anxiety. When their baby is born, they can focus on just enjoying their newborn knowing there is a team standing behind them.
Surgical reconstruction helps children lead fuller lives
Where myself and Dr. Jakubowski step in is helping these families plan for the full care journey for their children and understand the surgical options their child will need as they grow. Generally, these children will have their first surgery at around two or three months old. We start by repairing the cleft lip and the initial restructuring of the nose. We really try to hit a home run with that first surgery, so that the repair grows with the child.
After the lip repair, we wait until the child is about 10 or 12 months old to repair the palate and close that gap in the mouth from the nose. As they grow and get older, many children will need additional surgeries which we counsel families on very closely. These might include surgeries to help with speech, dental alignment. It’s not about repeating the same work but building on these surgeries over time to make sure these kids have the best possible start in life.
Right from the start, our large network of care teams and specialists are here to support families
What is special about M Health Fairview is our wide network of specialists and resources available to families. We have OB/GYNs and maternal fetal medicine specialists who are expertly providing these diagnoses during routine prenatal care, who can then refer these families directly to us for support. Because we have such a well-established network of experts available throughout our health system and our M Health Fairview Birthplaces, families can deliver their babies in their own communities with providers they are comfortable with. Then, we consolidate their cleft care in our clinic, backed by team of tertiary care pediatric specialists at M Health Masonic Children’s Hospital and the University of Minnesota.
