Author(s)

Kisito Nagalo^1,2*, Isso Ouédraogo^2,3, Jean-Martin Laberge^4,5, Louise Caouette-Laberge^4,6, Jean Turgeon^4,7

¹Service of Pediatrics, Clinique El Fateh-Suka, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
²Training and Research Unit of Health Sciences, University of Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
³Department of Pediatric Surgery, Charles De Gaulle Pediatric University Teaching Hospital, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
⁴Mission Sourires d’Afrique, Montreal, Canada.
⁵Department of Pediatric Surgery, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
⁶Department of Surgery, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.
⁷Department of Pediatrics, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada.

Background: Cleft lip and/or palate are the most common orofacial malformations. Many studies, especially in developed countries have been conducted on this malformation, but in Burkina Faso, data are scarce and they are not specific to children. The aim of this study was to report the epidemiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of cleft lip and/or palate in children in a low-income country. Materials and Method: The authors conducted a retrospective descriptive study based on data of three humanitarian missions of pediatric reconstructive facial surgery which took place in 2007, 2010 and 2014 at Clinique El Fateh-Suka in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. All children of 0 - 14 years of age, presenting with cleft lip and/or palate, were included in the study. Results: A total of 185 cases of cleft lip and/or palate were seen during these three humanitarian surgery missions. There were 100 boys and 85 girls. The average age of the children was 2.4 ± 3.2 years [0 - 12 years]; there were 8.7% newborns. The commonest type of cleft was cleft lip and palate (49.7%) followed by isolated cleft lip (48.7%) and isolated cleft palate (1.6%). The left side was the most affected (49.2%). In 21.1% of cases, clefts were associated with other congenital malformations. In total, 150 of 185 (81.1%) children underwent surgery and there were no postoperative complications reported. Conclusions: Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of cleft lip and/or palate observed in this study are not very different from those described elsewhere in Africa. However, in our conditions, there are circumstances and structural factors which hinder the diagnosis and constitute challenges that must be addressed for adequate management of this congenital, highly disfiguring malformation.

Orofacial Clefts, Cleft Lip and/or Palate, Congenital Malformations, Humanitarian Surgery, International Cooperation

Nagalo, K. , Ouédraogo, I. , Laberge, J. , Caouette-Laberge, L. and Turgeon, J. (2015) Epidemiology, Clinical Aspects and Management of Cleft Lip and/or Palate in Burkina Faso: A Humanitarian Pediatric Surgery-Based Study. Open Journal of Pediatrics, 5, 113-120. doi: 10.4236/ojped.2015.52017.