Cleft and Craniofacial Centre

The Cleft and Craniofacial Centre is the only dedicated comprehensive service in Singapore for the treatment of head, face and neck abnormalities in children. These conditions could be due to birth defects, accident or injury, or inappropriate growth and development. Optimal treatment of these conditions requires comprehensive, inter-disciplinary treatment planning and management to achieve maximum rehabilitation. Patients also need to be on long-term follow-up as the treatment spans the entire childhood and teenage years.

Range of Services

• Cleft lip and palate surgery
• Craniofacial surgery
• Distraction osteogenesis
• Reconstructive microsurgery
• Reconstruction for congenital deformities
• Cleft and Craniofacial dentistry
• Dentistry and Dental Surgery
• Cleft and Craniofacial Speech and Language Therapy

As a referral centre for the management of specific congenital and non-congenital conditions we specialise in managing:

• Craniofacial Syndromes
• Congenital Craniofacial
  • Hemifacial Microsomia
  • Treacher Collins
  • Tessier Craniofacial Clefts
  • Dysmorphism
• Congenital Cleft Lip and Palate
• Craniomaxillofacial Trauma
  • Primary management
  • Secondary Deformities
• Dentofacial Deformities
  • Malocclusions
  • Mandibular growth disturbances
  • Facial Asymmetry
  • TMJ problems
• Oral and Dental Health Education
• Vascular Malformations
• Paediatric Plastic
  • Craniofacial/H & N tumors/Fibrous Dysplasia
  • Pigmentation/Giant Hairy Naevi

In accordance with the American Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Association’s Guidelines on Parameters for the Evaluation and Treatment of Patients with Craniofacial Anomalies, this centre:

• Maintains a coordinator with a 24-hour listed telephone number. We also maintain comprehensive centralised records for each patient, including history, diagnoses, reports of evaluations, treatment plans, treatment, with supporting documentation such as photographs, radiographs, dental models, and audio-taped speech recordings.
• Organises and coordinates all the allied disciplines involved in the management of the craniofacial patients i.e. physical, occupational and speech therapists; dietitians; medical social workers; and psychiatrists and psychologists. The centre also helps patients and their families understand, coordinate, and implement their treatment plans.
• Runs monthly Combined Clinics to evaluate patients at scheduled intervals. The frequency and specific content of these evaluations are determined by the condition and needs of the patient and family.
• Runs a monthly Speech Evaluation Clinic for joint assessment and subsequent management of patients referred for velopharyngeal incompetence.
• Develops long-term treatment plans for each patient, and modifies them as necessitated by the craniofacial growth and development, treatment outcomes, and therapeutic advances.
• Weighs all treatment decisions against the expected outcomes and related factors such as facial growth, hearing, speech, dentition, and psychosocial impact on the patient and family.
• Educates primary care providers on critical healthcare aspects, including feeding, for the early care of children with craniofacial anomalies. The centre also promotes an understanding of, and sensitivity to, the needs of patients with craniofacial anomalies and related disorders among other healthcare professionals and the general public
• Assists families in securing financial assistance to meet the treatment needs of the patient.
• Runs a dedicated Antenatal Counselling Program, to promote early identification of craniofacial anomalies among personnel involved in the delivery and neonatal care, including primary care providers in the community.
• Maintains the Craniofacial Laboratory for long-term clinical and basic research.

A specifically designated Speech Room at the centre is fitted with advanced video and audio equipment to assess and treat children with speech problems. A special one-way mirror allows parents and doctors to observe the treatment in an unobtrusive manner.

The centre has a vibrant, child-friendly theme and a play area to keep children entertained while waiting for their treatment.

Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery

We also provide elective and emergency treatment and surgery for hand anomalies, physical defects resulting from trauma and infection, and care of minor degree burns.

Our Experts

Craniofacial Speech and Language Therapy

We have a dedicated team of speech and language therapists at KKH who works with the Cleft and Craniofacial team to provide integrated management for individuals with cleft and craniofacial anomalies.

Our specialist speech and language therapists provide routine and comprehensive follow-up from infancy to monitor speech, language and feeding development. Regular therapy is introduced from childhood through to adulthood should any feeding, speech, resonance, and/or language difficulties be detected. In addition, assessment and intervention is also provided to individuals with resonance disorders that do not seem to be related to any structural abnormalities, as well as individuals with genetic syndromes with associated craniofacial malformations.

Besides daily speech and language therapy sessions, we offer these clinics on a fortnightly basis:

• A combined feeding clinic with a speech therapist and a dietitian to provide support for infants and children with craniofacial anomalies and concurrent feeding difficulties.
• Speech videofluoroscopy (speech x-ray) as well as speech nasendoscopy clinics to further investigate resonance and velopharyngeal dysfunction where necessary for patients with cleft and craniofacial anomalies.

Specifically designated speech and language therapy rooms at the Centre are fitted with advanced audio and video equipment to assess and treat the patients under our care. A special one-way mirror allows parents and doctors to observe the treatment in an unobtrusive manner.

Our Key Team