CLEFT LIP

relatively common (one out of every 1,000 births) congenital deformity in which the central to medial lip fails to fuse properly during the first month of prenatal life, resulting in a fissure in the lip beneath the nostril. Once colloquially known as harelip, cleft lip may be unilateral or bilateral, it may take the form of anything from a small pit to a complete fissure the height of the lip, and it may occur alone or in conjunction with cleft palate (a fissure in the roof of the mouth). The deformity is sometimes familial; animal experiments suggest it may also occur following some abnormality of intrauterine environment. It is a frequent finding in certain chromosomal disorders. Surgery to repair the defect is performed in the first two months of life and is usually successful.