Cleft Lip and Palate Care at Shriners Children's Boston is "Exceptional"

July is Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness Month – and we are highlighting the wonderful outcomes for patients like Hunter.

Hunter’s mom, Kayla, vividly recalls the day she went for her 20-week ultrasound, excited to find out whether she was having a boy or a girl. The technician performed the ultrasound and immediately told Kayla that she had to speak with the doctor. “The worst case scenarios sprang to my mind right away,” Kayla said. Her doctor told her that her baby would be born with a cleft lip and recommended additional imaging to determine if the palate was also involved. Kayla’s doctor quickly sent her to Boston for an MRI, where imaging revealed that her baby had a small pinhole in the gum line and a unilateral cleft lip on the left side. Kayla had another ultrasound when she was eight months pregnant to confirm that her baby’s palate was not involved. That clarity helped determine the best course of care.

Hunter has been a patient at Shriners Children’s Boston since he was 3 months old. Kayla and her family learned about Shriners Children’s Boston through the Sunshine Club, an Anah Shrine Center club in Bangor, Maine. Members of the club noticed that Hunter had a cleft lip and recommended Shriners Children’s Boston for care. Discouraged by an experience with a surgeon in Maine, Kayla decided to contact Shriners Children’s Boston.

Hunter had his first surgery in 2018 when he was almost 7 months old. “To reassure me that everything would be well and that Hunter would still look handsome with his new smile, his entire team was present that day. I am grateful to the entire team for the incredible work they accomplished,” said Kayla.

Hunter, now 5, is a patient of Kavitha Ranganathan, M.D., co-director of the Cleft and Craniofacial Center, and he comes to Shriners Children’s once a year for evaluation. When he is between 8-10 years old, he will require a surgical procedure to address the pinhole in his gum line. Kayla expects that a component of that treatment will involve dental care. At Shriners Children’s Boston, cleft and craniofacial care can also include working with speech therapists, nutritionists, audiologists and dental radiologists to identify and help address related needs.

Kayla expressed appreciation for Hunter’s care team, who responded to all of the family’s questions and developed a comprehensive treatment plan for her son. "The entire cleft crew is exceptional. When you visit Shriners Children’s Boston, you are under the best possible care. You have a whole support staff behind you who will guide you through every step of the process and address any questions or concerns," she said.