Surgical Management of Cleft Lip and Palate

This atlas provides comprehensive, step-by-step guidance on surgical management of the cleft lip, alveolus, and palate. In particular, it demonstrates how an anatomical approach to management provides a sound basis for dealing with the many variations in cleft type. The displaced anatomical borders and landmarks, as well as the functional and aesthetic units, are fully described. The art of dissecting them from their abnormal position is illustrated, and their reconstruction into a normal and functional shape is meticulously explained. The main treatment philosophy underlying the described approach is that children born with cleft deformity should be “cleftless” by the time they enter the first grade of primary school. They must have normal speech. They should not have a fistula or residual cleft in the palate and/or the alveolus. And they should have a normal face so that they can confront the challenges of life without cleft stigmata. Both novice and more experienced surgeonswill find this atlas to be a valuable aid to optimal treatment.

• Alveolar bone grafting
• Functional lip closure
• Primary cleft-lip/nose repair
• Robotic assisted trans oral cleft palate surgery (TORCS)
• Cleft palate speech therapy

• Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Antwerp, University Hospital Antwerp, ZMACK Association, Antwerp, Belgium

  Nasser Nadjmi

Nasser Nadjmi, MD, DDS, PhD, FEBOMFS, is Professor and Coordinating Program Director for Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, and Director of the Team for Cleft Lip and Palate and Craniofacial Anomalies at the University Hospital, Antwerp, Belgium. He is the chairman of the department of Cranio-Maxillofacial surgery at the Univ. Hosp., Antwerp, Belgium and works at the private practice  ‘Craniofacial Association Antwerp’  at the Gen. Hosp. Monica and Gen. Hosp. KLINA, Antwerp, Belgium. Dr. Nadjmi gained his DDS and MD at The Catholic University of Louvain, Belgium, in 1992 and 1995 respectively. He finished his basic training in maxillofacial surgery in Belgium and subsequently completed fellowships in Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery in Houston, Texas, and in Cosmetic Surgery in Miami, Florida, USA. He became a Fellow of the European Association of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgeons (European board-certified maxillofacial surgeon) in 2002.

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