Facial cleft with Amelia: a Nigerian case report

Clefts of the lip and palate are the most common serious congenital anomalies in orofacial region. However, the occurrence of associated defects in the limbs is quite rare. This report presents a 12-week-old male child born with unilateral left cleft lip and palate, absence of the upper left arm and forearm, and fusion of both big and middle toes and absence of the entire small toe on the left foot. The repairs of lip and palate defects were done at 6 and 19 months of age while parents were referred for rehabilitation to ameliorate absence of upper left arm. We discuss the challenges of management of defects in a developing economy, issues of acceptance of children born with defects amenable to surgery and the benefit of parental education on the care of the child.