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Abbe Flap
In this operation the surgeon will take some of the lower lip tissue and transfer it to the repaired upper lip to give a fuller upper lip area.
Alveolar Ridge
The bony part of the upper and lower jaws that contain the teeth.
Anomaly
Deviation or departure from the norm.
Audiologist
A medical professional who diagnoses and treats hearing problems.
Autogenous Bone Graft
Bone borrowed from one part of the body (e.g., the hip, rib or skull) is then transferred to the area where it is needed.
Bilateral
Affecting the left and right sides.
Cheiloplasty
Surgery to close a cleft lip. Lip repair or revision.
Cleft Lip
A notch or hole in the upper lip due to failure of fusion of the tissue.
Cleft Palate
A hole in the roof of the mouth involving the hard palate and/or the soft palate, which may also extend to the alveolar ridge.
Columella
The cartilage portion of the nose dividing the two nostrils.
Complete Cleft
A cleft that extends through the entire oral structure.
Congenital
A condition that is recognized at birth or thought to have been present since birth.
Eustachian Tubes
The tubes that connects the middle ear to the back of the throat, and allow drainage of fluid from the middle ear.
Fistula
A remaining opening in the hard palate, even after surgical repair.
Gavage Feeding
Sending nutrients directly into the stomach by means of a tube. The tube is introduced through either the mouth or nose.
Glue Ear
A slang term for secretory otitis media.
Haberman (now known as the SpecialNeeds™ Feeder by Medela)
A specialized feeder designed for babies with cleft palate and other special feeding problems.
Hydroxyapatite Granules
A bone substitute made from coral that has reconstructive uses in craniofacial surgery, as well as cosmetic procedures.
Hypernasality
Speech that sounds very nasal.
Hyperplasia
Abnormal growth and/or enlargement.
Hypoplasia
Incomplete or arrested development. For instance, maxillary hypoplasia is the medical term for an underdeveloped upper jaw.
Latham Device
Dental appliance that helps align the segments of the upper jaw prior to lip closure.
LeFort I Maxillary Osteotomy
A common orthognathic (jaw) surgery performed to correct maxillary hypoplasia (an underdeveloped upper jaw).
LeFort II Osteotomy
An osteotomy of the nasal maxillary complex (nose and upper jaw) of the middle third of the face.
LeFort III Osteotomy
A surgical separation and repositioning of the naso-maxillary/malar complex (nose, upper jaw, and cheekbones), generally performed to bring the entire middle third of the face forward.
Malocclusion
Any deviation from a physiologically acceptable relationship of the upper and lower teeth with each other.
Mandible
The lower jaw.
Maxilla
The upper jaw, which contains the upper teeth, the palate, the maxillary sinuses, the floor of the nose, and part of the orbital rim.
Maxillofacial Advancement
A procedure where the maxilla is moved forward to achieve a normal facial profile.
Mead-Johnson
A cleft palate nurser. This is an extremely pliable plastic bottle with a soft, cross-cut nipple.
Midline Cleft
A cleft that occurs in the midline of the face. Midline clefts are most often occurring as part of another syndrome.
Mixed Dentition
Having some baby teeth and some permanent teeth.
Myringotomy
A surgical procedure during which a small incision is made in the eardrum to allow the release of pressure caused by excess fluid.
Myringotomy Tubes
Tiny rubber or titanium tubes inserted at the myringotomy incision site to aid in the drainage of fluid through the eustachian tubes.
Nasal Septum
The dividing wall that runs down the middle of the nose.
Naso-gastric tube (NG tube)
A pliable plastic tube passed through the nose into the stomach. Used for feeding or giving medications.
Nasoendoscopy
A fiber optic tube with a small camera is inserted through the nose and/or the mouth allowing doctors to view the nasal and throat surfaces during speech.
Orbicularis Oris
The circular muscle that goes around the mouth allowing one to pucker.
Obturator
A false palate made of plastic. An obturator is sometimes worn over the cleft of the hard palate to aid in feeding and speech development.
Occlusion
The way the teeth come together. Occlusion may be normal or abnormal (malocclusion) and classified as follows:
Class IWhen the teeth meet in a normal fashion.Class IIWhen the mandibular teeth are behind the normal relationship with themaxillary teeth.Class IIIWhen the lower dental arch is in front of the upper dental arch, sometimescalled an underbite.Orthognathic Surgery
The surgical correction of jaw deformities. The word orthognathics means "straight jaws".
Osteotomy
The incision, sectioning, or cutting of a bone, for the purpose of repositioning it.
Otitis Media
A build-up of sticky fluid in the middle ear. Otitis media occurs when the fluid cannot naturally drain through the eustachian tubes.
Otolaryngologist
An ear, nose and throat (ENT) physician.
Palate
The roof of the mouth, made up of the hard and soft palates.
Palatoplasty
The surgical closure of the cleft palate.
Partial Cleft
A cleft that extends through only part of the affected structure, as opposed to a complete cleft.
Pharyngeal Flap
This is a surgical procedure designed to minimize hypernasality by creating a "bridge" from a flap of skin between the soft palate and the back of the throat. performed to achieve normal closure during speech.
Philtrum
The middle of the upper lip located above the vermillion and bordered on either side by soft ridges, or Philtrum lines (the "Cupid's Bow").
Pigeon Feeder
Another cleft palate nurser. Different in that the top of the nipple is hard and flat, to be placed at the cleft palate site.
Premaxilla
The middle section of the upper gum containing the four upper front teeth.
Prognathic
When the lower jaw is significantly larger than the upper jaw, therefore in front of it.
Prolabium
The center of the upper lip.
Prosthesis
An artificial substitute for a missing body part.
Prosthodontist
A dentist who specializes in providing prosthetic appliances for oral structures.
Rhinoplasty
Nasal reconstruction.
Speech Pathology
The study of speech or language disorders and their diagnosis and correction.
Submucous Cleft
A cleft affecting the muscles that attach in the middle of the soft palate, but not affecting the covering tissue or skin. Submucous clefts are often overlooked as they are not visibly apparent except for a possible tiny cleft of the uvula.
Surgical Splint
A plastic and/or acrylic splint, or mouthpiece, used to maintain the jaw and tissues in their position following orthognathic surgery.
Tympanic Membrane
The eardrum.
Tympanogram
A graph that represents air pressure in the ear canal. A typanogram is used to determine if there is fluid present or a puncture in the eardrum.
Unilateral Cleft
A cleft that occurs on only the right or left side.
Uvula
The dangling bag-like structure in the back of the throat.
Velopharyngeal Incompetence (VPI)
The leakage of air through the soft palate during speech, causing nasal sounds
Velum
The soft palate.
Vermillion
The dark pink tissue that makes up the lip.
Videofluoroscopy
An videotaped x-ray image to aid in the study of a specific movement, for instance swallowing.
Zygoma
The malar bone, or cheek bone.
Definitions
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This cleftAdvocate page was last updated March 25, 2014
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