Cleft (Lip Alveolus) Palate (Types)

Figure liki_6a_n.jpg: Just like the cleft lip, iIsolated cleft palates may have different degrees of severity, going from a cleft uvula (= bifid uvula) to a subtotal cleft palate; the presented case of a schoolchild is not one of simple bifid uvula; the bifid uvula is combined with a whitish to bluish discoloration of the midline of the soft palate (marked by the black arrow pointing to the patient's left side) and a palpable notch at the posterior border of the hard palate, which is the proof of a submucous cleft (soft) palate. The latter may be the cause of an incomprehensible articulation (loss of air with an open nasality = rhinolalia aperta) and needs regular follow-up by a coordinated cleft lip plalate team, possibly speech therapy, and in one third of the latter group, surgery to improve the open nasality. Figure liki_6b_n.jpg: This partial cleft palate of an 8-month-old girl reaches the posterior border of the hard palate which is covered by the retractor. Adenoids are visible at the posterior pharyngeal wall. Figure liki_6c_n.jpg: This subtotal cleft palate of a 5-month-old girl, which ends towards the front in a gothic arch, exhibits behind the teeth a less than 1 cm wide border of preserved palate; in the depth, the nasal cavity with a midline vomer. Figure liki_6d_n.jpg: Anterior part of a total and broad cleft palate in a 1-year-old girl running out into a left cleft alveolus.