University of Health Sciences on Tuesday arranged global seminar on "recent updates in management of cleft lip and palate" for local surgeons and medical students that underscored the importance of seeking early intervention for surgical correction of the defect.
The seminar, organised by the university's Office of Research, Innovation and Commercialisation and the Gujrat Cleft Hospital, was part of a memorandum of understanding signed last week between the two institutions for cooperation in research and education. In his address, Paediatrician Consultant of the Universities of Wolverhampton and Kentucky, US, Professor Rashid Gatrad said, "While timing and sequence of specific cleft-related care is essential to optimising outcomes, care should be individualised to meet the needs of each patient. Children with cleft lip and palate should receive their specialty cleft-related care from a multidisciplinary cleft or craniofacial team with sufficient patient and surgical volume to promote successful outcomes.
"Cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common birth defects. A cleft is a gap in the upper lip, the roof of the mouth, or sometimes both. Each year, approximately 250,000 babies world-wide are born with a cleft. In Pakistan, the incidence is around 2 out of 1000 live births."
He also gave a presentation on "practical tips in detection of heart diseases in cleft patients". "A cleft can have detrimental effects on appearance, eating and speech as well as causes ear and dental complications. Most importantly, it impacts the confidence of the child," said Annette Middleton of a registered theatre nurse from Britain.
Plastic surgeon Dr Nicholas Hart said overall incidence of cleft deformity was significantly higher among males. It was also observed that the first born baby had more chances of getting afflicted more with this deformity followed up by second, third and fourth. He also said the right age of treatment of a child with a cleft lip was when a child is six-months old, and a one-year-old child should be treated for cleft palate.
Veteran speech and language therapist from Ireland Rosemary Sleator said every child with a cleft palate should be evaluated and monitored by a speech-language pathologist on a consistent basis throughout the child's development and especially into the early school-age years. Not all children with cleft palate would need speech therapy. The speech-language pathologist would monitor the child's development and recommend on-going speech therapy, when and if appropriate, he added.
Plastic Surgeon Consultant from the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospital, UK, Dr Muhammad Riaz Malik said the disorder might also cause social impairment, particularly if treatment is not timely undertaken. "Treatment of such defects involves a highly specialised team of plastic surgeons, maxillofacial surgeons, paediatric surgeons, otolaryngologists, orthodontists, paedodontists and speech therapists," he added. University Vice Chancellor Professor Muhammad Aslam said, "Many non-government organisations and private institutions have kept on inviting foreign and local surgeons and set up camps in various areas with affected population. They are the real angles as they perform surgeries and bring smile on the faces of children and their parents."
Dr Ijaz Bashir from Gujrat Cleft Hospital gave a brief introduction of his hospital which has been established with the cooperation of philanthropists and the Japanese government. Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial surgery at Ankara University in Turkey, Professor Reha Kisnisci then talked about "primary cleft palate repair using two-stage narrow flap palatoplasty." Anaesthetist Consultant from the Hull and East Yorkshire Hospital Dr Zahid Rafique also gave a presentation on "challenges of cleft anaesthesia".
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