Children born with cleft lips or cleft palates often face many challenges while growing up. Development is changed drastically, and learning to eat and speak becomes harder than ever. While surgeries are indeed available to correct craniofacial birth defects, these surgeries can be overwhelmingly expensive for some families, leaving parents and child forced to cope with these oral malformations.
Luckily, however, foundations exist to help children and parents move forward with treatment and therapy after a child is born with a cleft lip and/or palate. These foundations provide support and education, and some even provide treatment at discounted rates so that families without insurance can afford the costly procedures.
The Cleft Palate Foundation
The mission of The Cleft Palate Foundation is to:
“enhance the quality of life for individuals affected by cleft lip and palate and other craniofacial birth defects.”
The foundation operates the CLEFTLINE, a toll free 800 number that provides information to callers about facial clefts and other oral malformations. Callers will also be provided with information regarding cleft palate support groups in their regions.
In addition to CLEFTLINE (1-800-24-CLEFT), the foundation provides free publications to website visitors regarding craniofacial research, meetings and events, available scholarships, and teams of specialists available in their area to provide treatment.
SmileTrain
SmileTrain is a charity that provides oral cleft repair surgery for only $250 to poor families. They do this through funding from benefactors, and through donations from civilians like you and I. In addition to providing parents with the opportunity to afford the procedure, SmileTrain also trains doctors in over 75 countries to perform craniofacial surgeries on children.
SmileTrain makes it possible for children to live normal lives who otherwise would be forced to face a life of handicaps and physical deformities. The charity is a wonderful cause, and we urge anyone with the extra funds to make a donation.
Birth Defects Lawyers in New Jersey and Philadelphia
Craniofacial birth defects, like oral clefts, can have internal and external causes. It has recently been determined that one of those external causes is the use of the anti-convulsant drug Topamax, used to treat epilepsy and chronic migraines. When used during pregnancy, or extensively by women of childbearing age, the risk of a fetus developing an oral cleft becomes much greater. Doctors have been alerted that prescribing this drug to pregnant women could end up doing more harm than good, and that only when no other viable treatment options exist should it be prescribed to pregnant women.
If your child was born with a craniofacial birth defect and you believe that it could be attributed to your use of Topamax, you probably have a lot of questions regarding your legal rights. Contact the Mininno Law Office for a free case evaluation, or call for a free consultation at (856) 833-0600 in New Jersey, or (215) 567-2380 in Philadelphia.
If your child suffers from a cleft lip or cleft palate, there is help. Don’t wait to ask for it.
Brain damage can be categorized in one of two ways – acquired and traumatic. Acquired brain injuries are those that do not result from external forces. For example, a stroke would cause an acquired brain injury because no outside forces are the cause. Depending on the site of the lesions ( a lesion is any area of tissue or organ that has suffered damage) and severity of the stroke, the brain damage can affect the victim in different ways. Traumatic brain injury is damage that is caused by external forces. A motor vehicle accident, known as MVA to medical professionals, is often the cause of traumatic brain injuries. 
Topamax is associated with a few side effects and risks, some more dangerous than others. The most common side effect associated with the drug is numbness and tingling (parasthesia) in arms and legs. Other side effects include fatigue, change in tastes, weight loss, difficulty focusing, short term/non-severe loss of memory, nausea, loss of appetite, and diarrhea. No side effects seem to be long-term or life threatening. 
Two weeks ago, we posted a 
An infant’s face and skull form within the womb during the first trimester. Normally, the tissues that make up the hard palate (roof of the mouth) and the lip fuse together. When they do not, a hole or opening forms. This hole/opening is known as a cleft. 
A cleft lip can lead to extreme alterations of one’s life and can be difficult to cope with. If your newborn baby has a cleft lip or cleft palate, you will be bombarded with information from medical professionals across varying fields. These professionals will provide you with an abundance of helpful information, however, it is natural to feel overwhelmed. You need not panic as there are many other parents –like yourself—who are going through the same situation. Birth defects, such as 
A woman in West Virginia has filed a lawsuit against the nursing home that she believed killed her family member via 
Topamax was prescribed to millions of people who were excited about this “medical break through”. Unbeknownst to those taking the medication, Topamax has been found to increase the occurrence of birth defects in expectant mothers who take it. Five years after its release, in March 2011, the FDA forced Topamax to issue a warning about the correlation between their drug and birth defects. Five years of availability on the market means that countless expectant mothers have taken this pill, hoping to no longer suffer from epilepsy and seizures. The FDA’s website has confirmed that taking Topamax will increase fetal risk of birth defects, such as cleft lip or palate. The severity of this side effect must be taken into consideration when prescribing medication to expecting mothers. If you take Topamax and suspect that you could be pregnant, you should seek a medical professional to receive an expert opinion on the matter. There are alternative medications available that have not shown side effects of birth defects which are far safer to take during pregnancy.
The New England Journal of Medicine published an article last month that discussed research done on the correlation between a nursing home’s inspection results and it’s risk of being sued. Not surprisingly, the more frequent the deficiencies, the more likely that facility is going to be sued for 
Your doctor will take your personal circumstance into deep consideration and will advise you of the great benefits that are possible from surgery, along with the potential risks and side effects. The advantages of surgery are obvious in helping the child’s dentition, oral health, and your child’s ability to lead a “normal” life. However, when making this important decision, you, as the parent, need to be aware of the potentially harmful effects.