A little known documentary, under forty minutes in length, based on the life on a young girl who suffered from a cleft lip, won the 81st American Academy Award in the Best Documentary – Short Subject category. ‘Smile Pinki’ is based on the life of a five year old girl, who was affected with a severe cleft lip, and how her life changed significantly after she received the treatment she required. The aim of the movie is to spread awareness about these rather prevalent conditions.
What’s Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate?
Cleft, in this scenario, refers to a separation or a split. The ‘lip’ is self-explanatory, and ‘palate’ refers to the mouth’s roof. All human beings are born with cleft lips and palates; however, while we develop as foetuses the clefts work in fusing together. When either of these clefts does not fuse during pregnancy, the result is a cleft lip, a cleft palate, or a cleft lip/palate.
Referred to as craniofacial anomalies in the medical language, they are amongst the most commonly occurring birth defects; and there is little in terms of conclusive evidence when it comes to establishing what causes either of these conditions.
In the case of cleft lips, the cleft can be quite small, and can even be large enough to run all the way to the nose. Also, there is no fixed place for the cleft to occur, and in rare instances, a sufferer can also suffer from two clefts. The occurrence of cleft palette by itself is not as common, and is known to have a higher prevalence rate in females. In instances, a cleft lip and cleft palate can occur together, and is seen to occur more commonly in males.
Statistics
While the prevalence of just cleft palate cases in the US between 2004 and 2006 stood at 6.35 (per 10,000 live births), cases of cleft lip with/without cleft palate stood at 10.63 (per 10,000 live births). During this period, more than 2,500 cleft palate cases were detected, and more than 4,400 cases of cleft lips with/without cleft palate came to the fore. In the UK, around one in every 700 children is affected by cleft lips/palates.
While around one in 1,000 children are affected by cleft lip with/without cleft palate, the number of children affected by just cleft palate goes down to one in 2,000. The prevalence of cleft lip with/without cleft palate appears to be more common in Asians as well as certain sections of Native Americans, although no such pattern is noticed when it comes to just cleft palate. While cleft lip with/without cleft palate account for around 50% of all craniofacial clefts, just cleft palate cases account for around 20%.
What Can Cause It?
As mentioned before, no conclusive evidence exists in this realm, although a number of studies have been carried out to establish the cause, and many more are currently underway. Research so far points to various factors and these include:
- Alcohol/tobacco abuse during the gestation period
- The use of particular medication (like phenytoin)
- Genetic predisposition
- Folic acid deficiency
- The existence of diabetes
- Exposure to hostile environments and erratic diets (during pregnancy)
More: cleft lip causes, cleft palate causes.
Treatment
Treatment for craniofacial clefts depends on how severe the condition is, the existence of other associated problems, the age of the sufferer, and any other aspect which needs to be addressed. Surgery can take place any time in between the first twelve or sixteen months, and as a child suffering from this condition grows older, additional treatment could be required.
If your child or someone you know suffers from cleft lip and/or cleft palate, know that effective help is easily available, and can help change the way the affected child lives his/her life. All you have to do is take effective action.
More: cleft lip surgery, cleft palate surgery.