It can be scary to hear your child needs treatment for a condition impacting their face or head, like cleft lip and cleft palate or a craniofacial abnormality. Rest assured we see these conditions every day at Atrium Health Levine Children’s and have lots of experience diagnosing, treating and repairing them.
From diagnosis to treatment to recovery – and even into adulthood – we stick by your child every step of the way, helping them have the healthy, happy life they deserve.
What are cleft lip and cleft palate?
A cleft lip or palate is when a baby’s lips or mouth doesn't form properly before they’re born.
Also called orofacial clefts, they’re common birth defects and usually
treatable.
What are craniofacial conditions?
A craniofacial abnormality is when the face or skull doesn’t
grow or develop like it should. Similar to cleft lip and palate, craniofacial
conditions occur before a baby is born. We also treat craniofacial conditions
caused by disease or trauma.
Craniofacial conditions we treat include:
- Aplasia cutis congenita
- Branchial cleft cysts
- Craniosynostosis and associated syndromes
- DiGeorge syndrome, or velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS)
- Facial palsy, including Moebius syndrome
- Facial trauma
- Goldenhar syndrome
- Hemifacial microsomia
- Jaw irregularities
- Lymphovascular malformations
- Pierre Robin sequence, or micrognathia
- Positional plagiocephaly, or flat or abnormal head shape
- Tessier craniofacial clefts
- Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS)
- Velopharyngeal insufficiency and other palate abnormalities
Cleft and craniofacial treatments
For children with cleft and craniofacial conditions, treatment is often all
they need to repair the abnormality. Some patients require a combination of
treatments to correct or manage the condition, including surgery, laser
procedures and other therapies.
Treatments for cleft lip and palate include:
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Alveolar bone grafting, to add bone to the gums and fill
gaps left by cleft lip and palate
-
Cleft lip repair, to correct the groove left by a cleft lip
-
Cleft palate repair, to correct the hole in the roof of the
mouth
-
Cleft rhinoplasty, to reshape a nose affected by cleft lip
and palate
- Palatal lengthening, to lengthen the soft palate
Treatments for craniofacial abnormalities include:
-
Craniosynostosis repair, to correct conditions that cause
the skull to grow together
-
Endoscopic torticollis treatment, a minimally invasive
procedure that helps children with limited mobility in their neck reach a
full range of motion
-
Excision of head and neck masses, the process of removing
congenital, benign or malignant tumors from a child’s head or neck
-
Facial nerve reconstruction/reanimation, to repair nerves
in the face for enhanced facial movements and expressions
- Jaw distraction, or lengthening the jaw
-
Laser treatment, to remove or reduce the appearance of
vascular lesions
-
Microsurgical reconstruction, a surgery to repair tissues
affected by trauma, cancer and birth defects
- Orthognathic surgery, or jaw surgery
- Otoplasty, or ear correction surgery
-
Post-trauma cranial and facial reconstruction, surgery to
correct conditions affecting the head and face as the result of trauma
-
Lymphovascular malformation surgery, to remove lymphatic
abnormalities that are small and in one place
Why Levine Children’s?
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30+ pediatric specialties. In addition to plastic and reconstructive
surgery, our cleft and craniofacial patients have direct access to lots of
pediatric specialty care – as well as easy connection to healthcare
providers we trust in the community.
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Award-winning children’s hospital. For many years in a row, U.S. News &
World Report has ranked Levine Children’s Hospital one of the top children’s
hospitals in the nation.
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Care into adulthood. Our care doesn’t stop after your child’s treatment. We
follow them into adulthood to make sure they’re developing healthfully and
happily.
Location
Pediatric Cleft and Craniofacial Care
Carolinas HealthCare System Pediatric Surgery - Morehead Medical Plaza
1025 Morehead Medical Drive, Suite 200
Charlotte, NC 28203
704-446-6810