A comprehensive multidisciplinary team for the treatment of cleft lip and palate at the Fujita Health University Cleft Lip/Palate Center

We organized a team for treating cleft lip and palate patients in July 1986. Our team includes plastic surgeons, oral surgeons, pediatric orthodontists, ENT surgeons, pediatricians, speech therapists, anesthesiologists and caseworkers. Palatal closure is performed in two stages: soft palate closure at around 18 months of age, and hard palate closure between 4 to 5 and a half years of age, depending on the functional findings. An analysis of 115 patients who were above school age revealed that the two staged palatoplasty requires intimate observation and intensive training by a speech therapist. But the skeletal growth so far is comparable to that of normal children. A team approach is necessary to perform the two-staged palatoplasty successfully.