Keys to a successful cleft lip and palate team

The severity and complexity of the defects in patients with cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) require a complex and long-term programme of care, aiming primarily at the best aesthetic and functional outcome, with a minimum of procedures and optimal cost-effectiveness. This delivery of comprehensive and coordinated health care to patients with CLP is optimally provided through collaboration in a specialised CLP team. There is international consensus about the fundamental elements of CLP treatment: multidisciplinary teamwork, centralisation, high-volume care, team continuity, long-term treatment planning from birth to adulthood, standardised protocols, documentation, evaluation, follow-up studies, research, training and quality assurance.