Cleft and Craniofacial Center

CHKD's Craniofacial Center is fully accredited by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association and the Cleft Palate Foundation. This accreditation ensures that your child is receiving the most comprehensive and current craniofacial/cleft care.

Our Team Approach

Each year, our craniofacial team manages 800 patients and performs 200 surgical procedures. Using the newest technology and its years of experience, our team determines the best plan of care for each child. 

The craniofacial team consists of:

• Plastic surgeons
• Dentists and Orthodontists
• Neurosurgeons
• Audiologists
• Ophthalmologists
• Ear, nose and throat surgeons
• Medical geneticists
• General pediatricians
• Speech pathologists
• Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons

One of the biggest advantages of our program is that each member of our team has special training and experience. Our goal is to heal your child – body and mind – by improving the function and appearance of their face while addressing the associated medical, educational, and social needs that might arise from their conditions.

In addition, CHKD's pediatric psychologists, social workers, nurses, and child life specialists provide counseling, coping techniques, warmth, and understanding. The expertise of our physical, occupational, and speech therapists help patients catch up developmentally and nutritionally before and after corrective surgery.

Conditions We Treat

Craniofacial defects are abnormalities that involve both the skull and the face. Most are congenital, meaning children are born with them. But in rare cases, they can develop as a result of trauma or disease.

Conditions we treat include:

• Cleft lip/palate
• Encephalocele
• Ear deformities
• Facial injuries
• Craniosynostosis
• Hemifacial microsomia
• Dento-facial deformities
• Jaw deformities with malocclusion
• Congenital growths and tumors
• Velopharyngeal incompetence and speech disorders

Many craniofacial defects are detected through ultrasounds before birth. CHKD's craniofacial staff believes in early intervention and is available to meet with parents as soon as they learn of a craniofacial diagnosis, including prenatal consultations before the baby is born.