Index
- What are facial malformations?
- Prognosis of the disease
- Symptoms of facial malformations
- Medical tests for facial malformations
- What are the causes of facial malformations?
- Can they be prevented?
- Treatments for facial malformations
- Which specialist treats it?
What are facial malformations?
Facial malformations are a group of defects caused by abnormal development or growth in the soft tissue structures and bones of the face and head.
They can be classified into congenital and acquired deformities. The congenital ones are present from birth, while the acquired ones are divided into four different groups according to their causes: facial trauma, developmental anomalies, deformities or atrophy of the jaws due to edentulism or deformities of tumor origin.
Cleft lip or cleft palate are some of the most common
of the most frequent malformations.
Prognosis of the disease
Early diagnosis is important in order to treat the facial malformation as soon as possible. Depending on the anomaly, if it is mild or severe, surgical intervention will be required.
The most common malformations are: cleft lip and palate, pinna surgery, fistulas, cysts and tumors, facial syndromes, ocular anomalies, skin pathology, oral and oral-dental pathology.
Symptoms of facial malformations
Facial malformations are usually visible and can be easily identified. In some cases patients present symptoms such as feeding problems, speech and language difficulties, ear infections, altered dental development, decreased growth of the upper jaw, among others.
Medical tests for facial malformations
The specialist performs a physical examination to determine the type of facial malformation and recommend the most appropriate treatment for each patient.
What are the causes of facial malformations?
It is complicated to find a responsible factor, since there may be several factors that contribute to the development. Some of them are:
- Combination of genes: a change in genes can result in facial malformation.
- Environmental: prenatal environmental factors such as the use of vitamin A or valproic acid.
- Folic acid deficiency: this is a B vitamin found in orange juice, leafy vegetables or cereals. According to some studies, women who do not consume enough folic acid have a higher risk of having a baby with facial malformations.
Can it be prevented?
Facial malformations are usually congenital. However, in the case of cleft lip, it can be detected by prenatal ultrasound around the 20th week of pregnancy.
Treatments for facial malformations
Cleft lip or cleft palate are some of the most frequent malformations. In these cases a surgical intervention is performed to treat them. In order to correct them, the procedure is performed in 2 stages: the cleft lip is repaired at 3-6 months of age and the cleft palate is repaired at 12 months of age or a little earlier if possible. Follow-up surgeries are also performed between the age of 2 years and the last years of adolescence.
In the case of pinna surgery the most effective techniques are: the flap to repair lesions located in the free edge of the pinna and total skin graft for those lesions located in the auricular concha that do not affect the helix.
Both cysts and fistulas require surgery where they are removed through incisions. Sometimes several staggered incisions are needed.
Ocular anomalies such as hypertelorism (wide separation between eyes) are corrected with surgery involving two techniques: box osteotomy and facial bipartition, where part of the bone is removed to reposition the structures. For patients with anophthalmia or microphthalmia there is no treatment that fully restores vision, but a conformer, a plastic structure, can be placed to help the eye socket and bones grow properly.
What specialist treats it?
The specialist in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery treats facial malformations.