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Gillette Children’s is a leading provider of cleft lip and palate services, including surgery as indicated, for babies, children and adults. Our craniofacial team provides expert care for cleft lip, cleft palate and associated symptoms and conditions. Led by a team of board-certified craniofacial and plastic surgeons, our center is among the nation’s largest and most comprehensive.
Our surgical techniques maximize functional and cosmetic outcomes, even in the most complex cases of cleft lip and palate. Oftentimes after surgery, the condition is unrecognizable at a conversational distance.
Cleft care goes beyond surgery alone. It is a journey with landmark stops along the way. We offer all our coordinated services that your child may need on site. We will guide you through each and every evaluation and treatment your child may need as they grow and develop.
Our comprehensive treatment plans may include prenatal consultations, care at birth or shortly after birth, or whenever your child becomes a part of your family. Each year, Gillette treats many children with clefts who’ve been adopted from outside the United States. These children may have already undergone a cleft lip and palate repair in a different country, or may not have had any repairs during infancy. For these children, we will modify treatment timelines in line with evidence-based practice, and customize treatment plans to reduce the effects of clefting on speech, dental, and hearing development.
These resources include information about cleft lip and cleft palate including definitions, types of clefts, feeding strategies, and our team approach to comprehensive care. You’ll also learn about cleft lip and palate treatment guidelines and how to prepare for surgery.
We know having surgery is a significant event. Gillette will help you through the process, provide you the information you need and answer any questions or doubts you might have about your child’s upcoming surgery. Our Planning for Your Surgery guide will be mailed to you before a scheduled surgery.
We partner with our patients and family members so that we can evaluate and make treatment decisions together, so please ask questions and provide feedback along your journey. We’re glad you’re here.
Welcome!
Our Team Approach
The craniofacial team at Gillette Children's works to achieve the best possible outcomes for children who have cleft lip and/or cleft palate. Whether treatment begins in infancy or early childhood, our goal is to improve a child’s physical appearance and promote self-confidence.
As one of the top craniofacial centers in the U.S., we provide surgical correction of cleft lip and palate, as well as comprehensive services for associated issues. The Gillette team collaborates to treat all problems associated with cleft lip or palate. Our specialists will guide you through the services as your child grows and develops.
The following specialties and services are most often involved in caring for infants and children who have cleft lip and/or palate.
At Gillette, child life specialists help children feel at ease before and during hospital stays and medical procedures. Through hospital tours, education, emotional support, play, and relaxation techniques, we help children who have disabilities and complex conditions feel prepared for and comfortable during their visits.
Our child life specialists have extensive experience working with children who have cognitive (thinking and learning), behavioral, and communication challenges. We also collaborate with other Gillette specialists to support comprehensive care. In addition, we provide play activities and emotional support to patients’ siblings and families.
Our child life specialists understand the unique needs of children who have disabilities and complex conditions.
We are committed to helping your child, and your family, feel prepared for an upcoming procedure or hospital stay.
Our specialists collaborate to provide comprehensive care.
We believe that preparation, emotional support, and relaxation promote healing.
The core feeding team at Gillette includes registered dietitians, advanced practice providers, speech-language pathologists, and occupational therapists. We refer patients to other Gillette specialists, when needed, to help maintain proper nutrition and support health. Our team approach ensures comprehensive care for every patient.
At Gillette, pediatric ENT (otolaryngologists) providers care for children and teens who have complex conditions that affect the head and neck, including the ears, nose, and throat.
Our pediatric ENT providers collaborate with pediatric craniofacial and plastic surgeons as part of our integrated care model.
Families of patients who have cleft lip and/or palate work closely with their Advanced Practice Provider (APP) - a physician’s assistant or prenatally and/or after birth to assure proper growth and development. Advanced practice providers meet with families early on to discuss feeding methods, monitor weight and growth, and coordinate care with other services provided by the team. As the child gets older, the APP continues to assess if the child is developing appropriately and provides additional resources (i.e. social work, psychology) as needed.
Gillette is a leading provider of craniofacial and plastic surgery for patients who have complex conditions. We are committed to superb outcomes in patients who have conditions such as cleft lip and palate, craniosynostosis, deformational plagiocephaly, torticollis, birth marks and skin anomalies.
Our surgeons and advanced practice providers also collaborate with experts in speech-language pathology, neurosurgery, ENT, dentistry and orthodontics, and other specialties. We also serve patients whose needs continue into adulthood.
Our pediatric craniofacial and plastic surgeons understand the unique needs of people who have conditions that began in childhood and affect their appearance and function.
Our experts collaborate to provide comprehensive treatments that both minimize the need for surgery and maximize results.
We pride ourselves on achieving the best possible outcomes in appearance and function.
Our state-of-the-art technology and facilities are designed specifically for your needs.
We believe that people who have disabilities deserve a lifetime of excellent health care—from birth through adulthood.
The speech-language pathologists at Gillette help patients who have conditions that affect speech production, language comprehension and expression, feeding and swallowing, and cognitive deficits. We collaborate closely with the entire craniofacial team to ensure all patients are meeting developmental milestones and producing age-appropriate speech. Our goal is to help all patients achieve the highest levels of independence and function across the lifespan.
Our dedicated craniofacial speech-language pathology staff have advanced clinical and research training in cleft palate and craniofacial conditions. We use evidence-based practice to provide comprehensive evaluations and speech or feeding therapy to all individuals affected by cleft palate and craniofacial conditions.
Our audiologist is an expert in working with people who have physical disabilities as well as cognitive (thinking and learning), behavioral, and communication challenges. We specialize in understanding how complex conditions, such as genetic syndromes, craniofacial conditions, and neurodevelopment delays, relate to hearing challenges.
We provide audiology care from an expert who understands the unique needs of children, teens, and adults who have disabilities and complex conditions.
Our specialist collaborates to provide custom treatment plans.
We provide facilities and technology designed specifically for your needs.
For children, teens, and adults who have disabilities, finding appropriate dental care can be challenging. That's why Gillette offers dentists who understand the unique needs of people who have disabilities and complex conditions.
In addition to providing general dentistry for people who have complex conditions like cerebral palsy, our experts treat cleft lip and palate, hemifacial microsomia, and other disorders that affect the mouth and teeth. From sedation services to custom equipment, we have dental services designed to meet the needs of your child. Our dentistry services are primarily available to patients already receiving inpatient or outpatient medical care at Gillette.
Our dentists understand the unique needs of people who have conditions that make routine dental care challenging.
We provide dentistry as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.
Our features include sedated dentistry and specially designed equipment for people who have disabilities.
Our patients have access to a broad spectrum of services during a single visit.
At Gillette, our orthodontists specialize in caring for children and teens who have craniofacial conditions that affect facial growth and dental development.
Our team works closely with other specialists to guide your child’s growth, support surgical planning, and create treatment plans that fit their unique needs. Orthodontic care may include nasoalveolar molding, monitoring growth, preparing for bone grafting, or coordinating care before and after jaw surgery.
Because our orthodontic program is designed for children with craniofacial differences, we are not able to provide routine orthodontic treatment. Instead, we focus our expertise on the kids who need this specialized care most.
Families also benefit from coordinated visits, where multiple specialists can see your child in one place, making care easier and more convenient.
An oral and maxillofacial surgeon plays a central role on the craniofacial team by managing the surgical treatment of congenital and acquired deformities of the face and jaw. Working closely with our multidisciplinary team the oral and maxillofacial surgeon helps coordinate comprehensive care for the patients at Gillette particularly between the orthodontic and surgical team. Their responsibilities often include performing procedures such as alveolar bone grafting, corrective & reconstructive jaw surgery to restore function, facial balance, and airway stability. In addition to surgical management, they contribute to long-term treatment planning, guiding facial growth and coordinating timing of interventions from infancy through adulthood. Through this multidisciplinary collaboration, oral and maxillofacial surgeons help improve both functional outcomes, such as speech, chewing, and breathing and overall facial aesthetics for patients with complex craniofacial conditions
Our craniofacial & pediatric fellowship trained oral & maxillofacial surgeon is one of the very few in the state of Minnesota, giving him a unique perspective, skill set and ability to best care for all patients at Gillette Children’s.
This information is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace the advice of your health care providers. If you have any questions, talk with your doctor or others on your health care team.
If you are a Gillette patient with urgent questions or concerns, please contact the Nurse Help Line at 651-229-3890.
