Types of cleft lips and palates

Cleft deformations can vary considerably. They can occur as a cleft lip either unilaterally on one or bilaterally on both sides of the upper lip, as a cleft palate, as combined cleft lip and cleft palate or cleft lip and maxilla. Other types of cranio-facial clefts such as lateral facial clefts are rarer. Cleft lips and palates account for seventy per cent of the cases.