Cleft lip and palate: experience with a common congenital anomaly at PIMS

Cleft lips and palates constitute the most common congenital anomalies seen at the children hospital, Islamabad, with 2052 cases operated on during a period of six years, from 1987-1993. One out of every 3.92 surgical admissions was for this reason; 58% of these were male while 42% were female. Mean age at presentation was approximately 2.6 years. Cleft lip and palate [group 2] was the largest category of the patients [47.3%]. Late presentation was the major cause of morbidity due to malnutrition and permanent voice defects. Our data was also compared with regional studies