bethben Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I know this is a really small percentage of people here, but enough homeschoolers adopt, so here goes. We adopted my daughter from China with a repaired cleft lip/palate. She had been having mild problems with speech so yesterday, she had a speech surgery which just means they reconstructed her palate. Come to find out, the Chinese doctors surgically fixed the crack in her palate but failed completely to connect the muscles up there. So, all this time, we had assumed they had fixed it correctly because her speech wasn't horrible, just a little nasally. Turns out, they did it wrong (I guess according to common medical practice here). So, she is now fixed correctly. In some ways, that helped us justify putting her through this. We were a little on the fence about it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 So she had to do surgery twice? Ouch! Poor baby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted June 28, 2017 Author Share Posted June 28, 2017 This was her 5th surgery to repair the cleft issues. It is not uncommon. I have a friend whose son had 13 surgeries to repair the cleft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 Thanks for sharing your experience with us. I hope that your shared experience can be helpful to someone else! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I had no idea! Well, hopefully she doesn't have to have too many more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 This was her 5th surgery to repair the cleft issues. It is not uncommon. I have a friend whose son had 13 surgeries to repair the cleft. Wow! I had no idea! Again, truly, thank you for sharing your knowledge of this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 (edited) My friend's child had surgery here in the US but he has still had multiple surgeries due to the severity of his condition. I'm glad that this last surgery was successful. Edited because I didn't see additional information until after I posted. Edited June 28, 2017 by Jean in Newcastle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I think it is wise to assume any info we have been given on our internationally adopted kiddos is suspect :sneaky2: Vaccinations, surgeries, obviously history. Not to be totally negative but many doctors in China and elsewhere don't have the experience that our cleft surgeons have (and I've even seen some terrible local cleft surgeries done by general surgeons), and I even wonder that surgeons travel to other countries on 'medical mission' trips to get experience at the orphans expense. How many of our kids came home with vaccination records when titers showed they had no immunity? Sending hugs to your little one. I know how hard it is to send them through those doors. We thought our youngest was going to be a 'one and done' surgery and she has had 4 so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kbutton Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I am glad you got the information and confirmation you needed! I hear the gamut from acquaintances whose adopted kids are coming home with medical issues. Best wishes that things will heal well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhotoGal Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 I'm so glad it worked out for you! Our youngest has had 3 cleft palate surgeries here in the U.S., the last of which was "successful" in the sense that her palate is now closed and moves appropriately. Unfortunately, after 5 years of talking through her nose I think she is just too used to talking that way. She is still 100% nasal and can't make a lot of sounds. She's been in speech therapy for two years, but I'm starting to realize that she will never have a "normal" speaking voice. She has cognitive issues as well, so that also affects her speech. I have heard stories both ways about surgeries done in China - depending on the hospital, they can be done superbly or really not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 I had no idea it took that many surgeries either. Wow. A relative had a baby with a cleft palate a little over a year ago and he just had his first surgery a few months ago. I'm not close with them and I don't think I realized that might be just the first of many - seeing pictures of him now, I wouldn't have known he had a cleft before - there's so little scarring from the outside. Hugs to you and her! Clearly the surgery was the right call. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbusf Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 I have 2 daughters from China with Cleft Lip and Palates. My older DD had her lip repaired in China. Everything else has been done here. I don't even remember how many surgeries they have had. DD9 - maybe 3? DD7 - 3, and she still has a big one to go maybe next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom@shiloh Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Two dds with clefts here. One also had a cleft lip. Even though their initial cleft surgeries were done in the US, they weren't done correctly either. One had hers redone and that made a huge difference in her speech. For the other dd, it isn't enough of an issue to put her through that. Neither one requires speech therapy. I've lost count of the number of surgeries the dd with both the cleft lip and palate has had and also have no idea how many more she'll need. We're in the beginning stages of orthodontia now. Extra craziness! I'm just thankful that we only have to drive an hour to get to the orthodontist who specializes in clefts. The surgeon who fixed their palates the first time came highly recommended. Not sure what advice I'd give to someone else to avoid having it done wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scbusf Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 Two dds with clefts here. One also had a cleft lip. Even though their initial cleft surgeries were done in the US, they weren't done correctly either. One had hers redone and that made a huge difference in her speech. For the other dd, it isn't enough of an issue to put her through that. Neither one requires speech therapy. I've lost count of the number of surgeries the dd with both the cleft lip and palate has had and also have no idea how many more she'll need. We're in the beginning stages of orthodontia now. Extra craziness! I'm just thankful that we only have to drive an hour to get to the orthodontist who specializes in clefts. The surgeon who fixed their palates the first time came highly recommended. Not sure what advice I'd give to someone else to avoid having it done wrong. DD9 has had braces for around a year. When friends tell me their kids will only need them for a year or so, I just smile and nod. Cleft kids and orthodontia have a long relationship!!!!! DD7 will be getting her palate expander in the next few months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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