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Cleft lip and palate

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

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Cleft lip and cleft palate is relatively common, occuring roughly once in 600 live births. The majority of these abnormalities are isolated occurrences, however there may be a positive family history. Some cases have been linked to maternal corticosteroid therapy.

The distribution of occurences of different types of cleft lip and/or cleft palate is approximately:

  • cleft lip - a third
  • cleft palate - a quarter
  • cleft lip and palate - nearly half

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