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Dr. Andrew Jacono, MD, FACS is considered the Best Plastic Surgeon in New York Specializing in mini facelifts, rhinoplasties (nose job surgery) and eyelid lifts World Leading Expert in Facial Plastic Surgery,
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Home » Facial Reconstruction » Cleft Lip and Palate

Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Repair Surgery

Information About Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Surgery with Dr. Andrew Jacono in New York City.

What Is a Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate?

Before & After Cleft Lip and Palate Reconstructive Surgery.

Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects. They occur during the developmental process in the womb. Normally, the nose and mouth of a baby develop between the first 6 and 12 weeks of growth. However, for cleft lip and cleft palate deformities, parts of the lips and the roof of the mouth don’t grow together.

In the case of a cleft lip, this causes a physical separation in the upper lip. This causes a fissure in the roof of the mouth.

What Causes Cleft Deformities?

Researchers believe that these facial deformities are caused by genetic and environmental factors. However, in most children, a definite cause is unlikely to be discovered.

Parents with a genetic history of cleft lip or cleft palate are likelier to have a child with a cleft. Women who smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol, or use drugs during pregnancy are also at a higher risk of giving birth to a baby with a cleft. Males are more likely to have a cleft lip, while females are more likely to have a cleft palate.

Lastly, people of Asian descent are at the highest risk of having a cleft, while people of African descent are at the lowest risk.

What Problems Are Associated with Cleft Lip and/or Cleft Palate?

Children with palate deformities experience a number of difficulties. These include:

  1. Eating Problems

    left lip and cleft palate make it more difficult for babies to eat. Although most infants with a cleft lip can breastfeed, they may have trouble latching onto the nipple. A cleft palate can make sucking much harder.

  2. Ear Infections

    Babies with a cleft palate are at an especially high risk of developing hearing loss and middle ear fluid infections.

  3. Speech Problems

    The palate is used to form sounds. Therefore, a cleft palate can cause speech difficulties. For example, the voice can sound too nasal. This occurs because the soft palate is not able to properly close off the mouth from the nose while speaking. Air thus escapes through the nose.

  4. Dental Problems

    If the cleft lip or cleft palate extends through the upper gums, tooth development may be severely affected.

Treatment Plan for Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate

Medical professionals with cleft lip and palate expertise have formed teams all over the country to help parents plan for their child’s care. Usually, members of a child’s cleft lip and palate treatment team include:

  • an audiologist (who assesses hearing)
  • a surgeon (a plastic surgeon, an oral/maxillofacial surgeon, a craniofacial surgeon, or a neurosurgeon)
  • a pediatric dentist or other dental specialists (e.g., a prosthodontist, who makes prosthetic devices for the mouth)
  • an orthodontist (who straightens the teeth and aligns the jaws).
  • a geneticist (who screens patients for craniofacial syndromes and helps parents understand the chances of having more children with these conditions)
  • a nurse (who helps with feeding difficulties and provides ongoing supervision of the child’s health)
  • an otolaryngologist (an “ear, nose, and throat” doctor, or “ENT”).
  • a pediatrician (who monitors overall health and development).
  • a psychologist, social worker, or other mental health specialists (who supports the family and evaluates any adjustment problems)
  • a speech-language pathologist (who assesses speech and feeding problems)

Surgical Intervention for Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate

Surgical treatment for cleft lip and cleft palate is the most direct way to address physical concerns.

During surgery, Dr. Jacono makes an incision on either side of the cleft, from the lip to the nostril. The two sides of the lip are then sutured together. Bilateral cleft lips require a different surgery.

Cleft palate surgery involves drawing tissue from either side of the mouth to rebuild the palate. It requires 2 or 3 nights in the hospital, with the first night spent in the intensive care unit. Overall, the surgery aims to separate the oral and nasal cavities. This separation involves the formation of a valve that is both airtight and watertight. The valve is necessary for normal speech. Surgical repair also preserves facial growth and the development of the proper dentition.

Dr. Jacono and other surgeons agree that corrective surgery should be performed when the patient is younger than 1 year. This is before significant speech development occurs. The potential benefits of an intact lip and palate outweigh the complications of early closure. Surgery requires general anesthesia.

The necessity for further operations depends on the cleft’s shape and severity, and on the thickness of the tissue. Some children with a cleft palate require more surgeries to improve their speech. Additional procedures may improve the appearance of the lip and nose, close openings between the mouth and nose, help to breathe, and stabilize the jaw. Subsequent surgeries are usually scheduled 6 months apart to allow the child to heal.

Why Choose Dr. Andrew Jacono

Dr. Jacono is a dual-board certified facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon who volunteers with “BEYOND OUR BORDERS” to bring underprivileged children from third-world countries to the United States for surgery.

He also volunteers with “HEALING THE CHILDREN” to coordinate mission trips to third-world countries so that children can receive surgeries unavailable to them due to a lack of medical and financial resources.

Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Before and After Photos


Cleft Lip Before and After Photos – Patient 1:

This child had a unilateral cleft lip deformity that was repaired and a one year follow up photo.

Before & After
Cleft Lip Surgery Before and After Photo


Cleft Lip Before and After Photos – Patient 2:

This child had a bilateral cleft lip deformity that was repaired and a one year follow up photo.

Before & After
Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery Before and After Photo


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Doctor Jacono performs Charitable Surgery for Children with Cleft Lip and Palate on Missions to Third World Countries and also on Women who are Victims of Domestic Violence. … Best Plastic Surgeon

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Mission Statement

Doctor Jacono’s desire to become a facial plastic surgeon was solidified in grade school. There was a girl on his school bus route who was born with a cleft lip and palate deformity. Unfortunately, whenever she spoke, air and words escaped through her nose. Kids teased her and were cruel, and nobody would sit next to her on the bus, so he decided to sit with her. One day, the girl had plastic surgery and returned to school with her face repaired. Suddenly, classmates saw her face instead of her deformity and immediately treated her normally. It was at that moment that Doctor Jacono knew he wanted to fix people’s faces and change their lives. This is why he has gone on over twenty plastic surgery missions to poor countries around the world and provided free cleft lip and surgery for birth defects to over 500 children.

Because of this experience in his childhood, Doctor Jacono understands that one of our basic needs as human beings is to feel confident about our appearance. It’s is Doctor Jacono’s passion to help his patients achieve their facial aesthetic goals, creating natural appearing results to either enhance their beauty and proportion or rejuvenate their aging appearance. He is a world-renowned leader in the field of facial plastic surgery and only performs surgery on the face, not the body. He has innovated many facelift, eyelid lift, and rhinoplasty surgical techniques, publishing in leading peer reviewed literature and lecturing at plastic surgery conferences all over the world. He is committed to sharing what he has learned teaching surgeons from around the world.

His approach is to maintain your uniqueness and facial identity; it is still you just better. To do this he uses a customized, bespoke approach to each patient employing the most minimally invasive, innovative, and cutting-edge technology. Doctor Jacono has never performed the same procedure on any two of the thousands of patients he has treated. He is committed to providing his surgical expertise in a caring, supportive environment with a professional staff that has you as their focus and concern.