At the Clinical Centre for Paediatric Medicine, surgeons successfully operated on a 3‑month‑old boy with a congenital cleft of the upper lip. Timely surgical intervention for this condition is important not only from an aesthetic point of view, but also for normal sucking, breathing and the further development of the maxillofacial area.
Three‑month‑old Romchyk from the Sheptytskyi district of Lviv region was born with a congenital cleft of the upper lip and had been under medical supervision. In time, the family began to look for options for surgical correction of the defect.
The impetus for specialised treatment was the boy’s stay at the Clinic for Early Childhood Diseases and Rehabilitation, where he was being treated for bronchiolitis. During the examination, doctors drew attention to the congenital condition and referred the child to maxillofacial surgeon Khrystyna Pohranychna.
Over the course of two days, Romchyk underwent a comprehensive examination. Based on its results, a decision was made to perform primary cheilorhinoplasty — an operation during which the cleft lip is closed and the correct shape of the nasal wing is restored.
The procedure was carried out by a team from the Clinical Centre for Paediatric Medicine: maxillofacial surgeon Khrystyna Pohranychna, maxillofacial surgeon Roman Ohonovskyi, anaesthetist Zoryana Davydenko and scrub nurse Tetyana Zakharchenko. According to Khrystyna Pohranychna, the operation was performed at the optimal time in line with international treatment protocols — at the age of three months.
It is at this age that correction of a cleft lip makes it possible to significantly improve sucking and breathing, create the conditions for proper formation of the orbicularis oris muscle, harmonious jaw growth and subsequent tooth eruption.
“Each case of cleft is unique. Although we operate on children with such conditions every day, no two patients are the same. The main task in treating a cleft lip is to restore the orbicularis oris muscle and to shape the nasal wing, which ensures not only an aesthetic result, but also the child’s proper functional development,” notes maxillofacial surgeon Khrystyna Pohranychna.
The operation went well, and the boy’s mother, Diana, spoke positively about the work of the medical team and the conditions in the facility, stressing that the family is satisfied with the treatment and the outcome of the procedure.
Romchyk’s story shows how timely diagnosis, the coordinated work of a multidisciplinary team and parents’ trust in doctors give children with congenital anomalies the chance of full development.