No More Cleft Lip

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Cleft lip and palate is not an uncommon condition. In Malaysia alone, around one in 700 children are born with this condition.

That is why the Cleft Lip and Palate Associaton of Malaysia (Clapam) was established, and together with ING Insurance, they provide financial aid to children with this condition to undergo surgery.

First time mother, Wahyunah Razmi was shocked when she realized that her son, Ahmad Azri Fikri was born with a cleft lip. She was then referred to Zuraini Ghalazli, the secretary of Clapam. Zuraini explained the condition to Wahyunah and taught her how to feed her child while waiting for the corrective surgery to be scheduled.   

Ahmad Azri is now eight months old and has his first corrective surgery done two months ago.

Corrective surgery is a relatively simple process with the patient undergoing three surgeries to correct the defect. Corrective surgery has to be done as early as possible (from three months of age) because the healing process for the child will be faster and it ensures that the child will not suffer any speech impairment later on.

If the condition is left on its own until the child grows up, it might lead to low self-esteem and feelings of having to hide the deformity from the outside world. Raising awareness on cleft lip and palate not only helps the affected child but also the parents as they will better understand the condition and realize it can be fixed.

Many people think that the problem is only the defect on the child’s lip but in reality, it is the emotional impact on the parents who have to deal with it. In some extreme cases, the parents not only refuse to seek help for their child but also hide their baby from anyone, including family members. This is very damaging to the relationship between the child and the parents. That’s why counselling is very important.  

In some cases, cleft lip can be detected even in the womb through ultrasound. Once detected, parents should undergo counselling to make them understand the situation better and prepare them mentally to accept the child.

This was the case with Azlinawati Lasim. Her son’s cleft lip was detected six months into her pregnancy. She was shocked but took the news well. She too was referred to Zuraini who counselled her all the way until her son, Ahmad Syafiq Zakwan, was born. They waited for four months before the baby underwent corrective surgery. Ahmad Syafiq is not a healthy, 21-month-old boy.

While the majority of cases of cleft lip and palate involve newborns, some 30 percent of cases involve adults. One of them is 29-year-old Kohila Ganeson who underwent surgery to fix her cleft lip when she was a year old. However, her parents did not get her palate fixed because they did not know that it would affect her speech.

Early last year, Kohila found out about Clapam and reachedout to the associon for help. She had surgery done on her palate last July and her speech’s now much clearer and she also finds it easier to eat.

(For more details about Clapam, log on to www.sites.google.com/site/clapam/ and http://www.ing.com.my/.)