Newswise — MAYWOOD, IL – Niki and John Riebe were thrilled when expecting their first child, enjoying each benchmark test and pregnancy milestone. Then they heard the words that every parent fears.
“We were at a routine ultrasound and the technician took longer than usual with the pictures and called in a physician. They had noticed something unusual in the facial development,” said Mrs. Riebe, of Ottawa, Illinois. “The physician said he saw a cleft lip and possibly palate and all of a sudden our joy and confidence were shattered and we feared for the safety of our son. I was upset and started to cry and didn’t think I was prepared to handle it all.”
Cleft lip and cleft palate are two of the most common major birth defects in America. One of every 600 newborns is affected by cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Much more than a cosmetic imperfection, cleft lip and palates impact a child’s ability to eat, speak, breathe and hear.
“Ledger was born with an incomplete bilateral cleft lip and palate, meaning the lip, gum, nose and palate had not formed properly,” said Parit A. Patel, MD, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who specializes in craniofacial surgery and cleft conditions at Loyola University Health System. “I met with them in the neonatal intensive care unit and my first goal was to reassure them that their son would lead a normal life.” The cause of cleft in most cases is unknown. Cleft lip is more common in males while cleft palate is more common in females.
Surgery to repair a cleft lip is usually done when a child is three months old and cleft palate repair is done when a child is nine to 12 months old.
“Ledger was the perfect candidate for nasoalveolar molding, a special surgery where he was fitted with a retainer-like orthodontic apparatus that helps facilitate healing of the nose, lip and gum,” said Dr. Patel. Loyola is one of a few select academic medical centers offering nasoalveolar molding (NAM) to treat cleft lip and palate. NAM requires fewer overall surgeries for the patient. With each surgery, Ledger improved. “I was really happy with the final outcome. I had gotten used to how he looked before and actually had to get used to the new normal Ledger,” said his mother. Ledger now continues to work with a speech pathologist to learn normal word pronunciation.
“Working with families to restore their child to a normal life is one of the best aspects of my job,” says Dr. Patel, who regularly performs NAM procedures through the Loyola cleft lip and palate program.
“Our son is going to do great things in this world despite his little scar,” Mrs. Riebe said. “Just as we have from the start, we, together with his Loyola care team, will be right there to support him every step of the way.”
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