Cleft lip and palate is one of the most common congenital deformities. Worldwide, there is thought to be an average of one case for every 500 to 600 births. A cleft lip, jaw or palate must be operated on in every case, usually within the first few months of life. If the condition remains untreated and the children grow up without therapy, they become outsiders in their living environment. In developing countries, this is unfortunately often the case. This is because there is a lack of specialists who can perform these complex operations.
Patients suffer twice over: on the one hand, they bear an aesthetic blemish on their face and often live in social isolation because of their otherness. At least as bad are the functional disorders associated with this deformity. Swallowing and breathing are affected, as are early phonation and speech development. Chronic middle ear infections and the associated hearing deficits make learning to speak even more difficult. In babies, breathing and feeding disorders can ultimately become life-threatening because they are often malnourished or undernourished and thus susceptible to infections.
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An expert in oral and maxillofacial surgery usually travels to Eritrea with the ENT team twice a year for ARCHEMED to treat patients with cleft lip and palate. He is assigned the difficult and complex cases in particular, and he can operate on up to four children per day. These children and their families gain new perspectives and the chance of a life in health and dignity.
Project management
Prof. Dr Dr Joachim Zöller, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, Cologne
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