
the formation of a cleft palate unit- a preliminary report
with cleft palates, as in other surgical fields, changing
techniques and better management of the patient as a whole
render inexcusable the operative procedures that merely
drag together the edges of the defect and then leave a
cosmetically and functionally crippled child, to adapt itself
as best it may to the harsh competition of the outside
world.
ironically the problem of congenital defects increases as
our competence to deal with them advances.  in the past
these cases struggled to take their place on the marriage
market but the more skilled our rehabilitative procedures
become, the more likely are they to perpetuate their disability,
since a significant number show a hereditary tendency.
