WHAT IS BILATERAL CLEFT LIP AND PALATE?
Bilateral cleft lip exists when there is a cleft on both sides of the premaxilla. In these cases, there is often severe facial disfigurement with the premaxilla well outside the oral cavity. In these cases, nasal alveolar molding (NAM see below) is critical to reestablish a more normal anatomic alignment and therefore, allow a more accurate cleft lip and cleft nose repair. WHAT IS A CLEFT PALATE? A cleft palate is a condition that may or may not occur with cleft lip. With a cleft palate, there is a loss of separation of the oral and nasal cavities. The oral and nasal cavity is usually separated by two distinct mechanisms. One is the immobile hard palate; this is the bony portion of the palate that does not move. The other portion is the soft palate; this is the portion of the palate that intermittently divides the nose and the mouth. For example, with speech, the soft palate closes on the back of the pharynx, thereby allowing air to exit only the mouth. This also separates the nasal an
