Meet on advances in cleft lip surgery

BANGALORE: President of theAssociation of Plastic Surgeons of India, Dr B. Sadashiva Murthy presentedrecent advances in cleft surgery. At a press conference held on Friday, Dr.S.A.Subramani announced the latest research findings on rare cranio-facialclefts.Through research a number of cases of deformity and disfigurementof cranio facial clefts were detected, Subramani said. The various causesidentified for these deformities, ranged from genetic factors, to theindividual''s environment, marriage between related families and dietary factors,such as lack of minerals, vitamins, etc.Improvising on various Europeantechniques, it was discovered, that mental deformities such as mentalretardation and malformations of fingers and toes are associated with craniofacial clefts that are sometimes the result of exposure to X-rays within thefirst three months of pregnancy when the foetus is undergoing facialdevelopment. The age of the mother, abuse of drugs and even excessiveamounts of essential vitamins contribute to the formation of clefts. DrSadashiva spoke of the developments in plastic surgery as a means to correctthese defects, wherein a series of repetitive surgeries are necessary tocompletely repair them. Detailed clinical tests, can probably correct thesedefects within the womb itself, within the three month period, but thistechnique is still in the experimentation stage. Gene alteration is also beingexperimented on in those cases where a gene defect is responsible for thedeformation.As it is mostly in rural areas and in the labour class thatsuch cases have been identified, measures are being taken to provide aid forthese cases.