Cleft palate can be seen together with cleft lip. Its general condition is the same as with cleft lip. There are several types of cleft palate. The simplest is the light form with the slit of the uvula. A little more advanced is that the part we call the soft palate is cleft. Cleft palate, which includes the hard palate, that is, the bone part, is a more serious condition. If the cleft palate includes the arch of the tooth, this is the most serious condition.
Cleft palate covering only the soft palate can be operated at six months of age. Surgery in the early period is preferred in terms of developing the normal functions of the child. However, it would be more appropriate to wait until the age of one in children with a cleft hard palate, that is, a cleft in the bone, in order not to create a negative situation in bone development. In the correction of cleft palate, the patient's own tissues are used. The tissues on both sides of this slit are separated from the soft tissue and the periosteum above the bone and joined in the middle; The muscles are brought closer together.
It is important to treat these muscles well in order to avoid speech problems in the future. In delayed cleft palate surgeries, the rate of speech disorders will be higher and the treatment of these patients by a speech therapist may take a long time. On the other hand, as a result of adequate and timely intervention, speech therapy will be needed for a shorter period of time.
Orthodontic support is also very important from infancy. Orthodontic and speech therapy and even psychiatric support should continue for many years after cleft repair.