Dear friend thanks for sharing your concern most of the case of cleft lip can be surgically repaired with excellent cosmetic and functional results. It is customary to operate before the patient is one month old or when she or he has regained his/her original birth weight and is still gaining. surgery can correct palate in majority of cases but the operation to close the cleft palate is not usually carried out until the patient is about 18 months old. Definitive speech habit has not been established by this time (18 months). Yet sufficient maturation has occurred so that the danger of seriously interfering with important growth centers is at least minimised. both the physical and psychological effects of cleft palate on the patient are of considerable concern to both the patient and the doctor. I can understand Eating and drinking are difficult because of regurgitation of food and liquid through the nose. The speech problem is also serious and tense to increase the mental trauma suffered by the patient. Anterior palate is usually closed along with the lip in the first stage of the cleft lip repair surgery. A single layer closure of the anterior palate is well accepted. However cleft in the alveolar gap is usually closed by single nasal layer. The raw surface of the buckle side is covered by skoog mucoperiosteal flap. This not only causes alveolar bone fusion but also the growth of tooth in this segment is also achieved. It is preferable to keep the child following palatel surgery in the hospital for 10 days. so that she is under constant medical supervision. In later years bone is grafted to provide better periodontal support for teeth bordering the cleft. During period of mixed dentition that is 09 to 11 yrs. many bone grafting centres are favourable at this age. later once the child grows orthodontic treatment can be administered, like correction in the form of maxillary advancement or with mandibular push back with or without genioplasty (chin surgery). Hope it helps thanks