Pediatric Cleft Lip and Palate Program
Meet the Care Team
Patient Stories
Joseph gains his forever smile at Children's Health
In February 2019, Caitlin and her husband, Edwin, were excited to learn they would be adopting a baby boy. That excitement mixed with some fear when their son was diagnosed in utero with a bilateral cleft lip. Caitlin and Edwin did a great deal of research about caring for babies with cleft lips prior to his birth, but Caitlin says she still worried that her "motherly instincts" wouldn't kick in. Within seconds after their son Joseph's birth, however, those fears quickly vanished.
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Proactive care starts with neonatal consults
Our Cleft team will likely first meet your child before birth. At just a few days old, the care plan begins and you may meet with our orthodontics team to discuss whether a pre-surgery Nasoalveolar Molding (NAM) device can optimize your child’s outcome. At 4-6 weeks, we begin discussing options for surgery, which is usually performed when your child is 3 months old. Oftentimes, we can start treatment within 2 weeks.
Appointments that cater to you
To ease the burden on you and your family, each member of your multidisciplinary team will rotate through your room in our child-friendly clinic setting. After the appointment, the team gathers around the table to discuss your child’s case. Together we will develop an integrated approach that addresses all of your child’s needs. We are devoted to creating a customize care plan and walking beside you each step that you take on this journey.
Have questions about your upcoming visit? Learn more about what to expect before, during and after your cleft lip and palate appointment.
Advanced care through every stage of life with bilingual experts by your side
Because cleft lip and palate can cause a range of health issues, our team is standing by to help with any need that may arise. When your child is born, we will closely monitor his or her feeding schedule and weight gain. We embrace your child from birth to adulthood with dental care, psychosocial support and speech therapy provided by certified Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs). To better serve all of our patients, we are proud to be the only cleft program in North Texas with a speech language pathologist on staff who speaks Spanish.
A recognized leader in care
Our cleft and craniofacial team is composed of multiple specialists and is fully approved by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association’s Commission on Approval of Teams.
Children’s Health is the only ACPA-approved team in North Texas with the largest cleft team in the region performing more cleft related surgery than any other team in the region.
We are by your side, from birth to adulthood, to offer expert advice and support. Your team may include a pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgeon, an oral surgeon, a dentist, a pediatric orthodontist, an ENT provider (otolaryngologist), a psychologist, a social worker and a geneticist. Because we have all of these specialists under one roof, there is no better place to receive nurturing, expert care to minimize stress and maximize positive results.