Baby with Tessier facial cleft gets a makeover at city hospital

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru

 Doctors at Aster CMI Hospital here recently carried out a series of corrective surgeries on a baby born with Tessier facial cleft, a birth defect in face structure.

 The patient, Huligemma, hailing from Ballari, required corrective surgeries involving the upper half of the face, right eye, upper lip and palate.

She underwent complex craniofacial reconstructive surgical procedures to restore her facial appearance, and be able to eat and speak normally. As Huligemma’s parents could not afford the medical expenses, various social organisations pitched in to fund the surgeries.

 Tessier facial cleft is a collection of related conditions that cause clefts or defects in the soft tissues and bones, and they are more complex than the common form of cleft lip and palate. A team of doctors at Aster CMI Hospital, Dr Chetan Ginigeri, Lead Consultant - Paediatrics & Paediatric Intensive Care, Dr Sathish M.S. Vasishta, Consultant - Craniomaxillofacial Surgery and Dr V Arun, Lead Consultant – Anaesthesia & Critical Care, Dr Gaurang J Kothari, Consultant - Anesthesia & Critical Care and other surgeons.

Huligemma is now leading a normal life. The first procedure was carried out when she was five months old.

 Regarding Huligemma’s case, Dr Ginigeri said, “Huligemma had a face with the cleft extending into the palate, lip, right side of the nose all the way up to the right side of the eye. She required a complex reconstructive procedure to reconstruct her facial deformities and give her a very good functional and cosmetic outcome in terms of bridging the nasal cleft.”

 Dr Vasishta said, “Huligemma underwent three procedures till date. She requires one more for final palate correction. She underwent functional repair surgery, the first procedure when she was five months old. We did cleft palate surgery in the second procedure when she was 11 months old. The third procedure was bilateral cleft lip repair and was conducted when she was 15 months old”

Dr Arun, said, “For a small child going through a major surgery under general anesthesia is a huge challenge. The presence of a large facial cleft also made it risky to maintain her airway and support her breathing during and after the surgery.”

Regarding her present condition, Dr Ginigeri said, “She is recovering fast, able to feed without spilling the food and milk from the nose, speak and is undergoing speech rehabilitation. She will gain weight and develop normally.”

Huligemma’s mother Durugamma said she got to know about the deformities during a routine scan at the eighth month of her pregnancy. “It was difficult for us. Our immediate relatives began to pressure us to abort.” They then approached Aster CMI Hospital. “The doctors have been kind to us and told us about the corrective surgeries. They even showed us videos of children on the internet who were born like my baby but went on to lead normal lives after the surgery,” Durugamma said.

She also thanked various social organisations who helped raise funds for the surgery