🇿🇦 Unveiling the unknown: Genetic and environmental factors behind cleft lip and palateOnly about 5% of cleft lip and palate cases can be traced back to genetics, leaving a staggering 95% in the realm of the unknown,
Professor Anil Madaree, Head of the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of Kwa-Zulu Natal
told Sputnik Africa.This uncertainty points to a complex interaction between genetic makeup and environmental factors that researchers have yet to fully unravel.
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"There is a connection between the gene-environment association," said professor Madaree.
"Certain environmental conditions will cause it, like malnutrition or maybe during the pregnancy, the mother's not getting enough vitamins, etc., but we're not exactly sure."This condition primarily impacts individuals from Southeast Asia and is relatively uncommon in Africa. Nevertheless, t
he challenges in Africa are significant due to the lack of awareness and medical infrastructure in many regions.👨⚕️ Addressing these issues, organizations like Operation Smile, with which Madaree is deeply involved, work tirelessly to provide care and build local capacity. He emphasized that it's not only about performing surgeries, "but more importantly is to try and educate the local people, all the healthcare workers […] [to make] a long-lasting impact."
Sputnik Africa also talked to
Tshepo Manetja, one of Madaree’s patients. He finally underwent the much-anticipated surgery in 2019, which proved to be successful.
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"I was nervous but so excited to finally be receiving surgery for a condition I’d had to live with all my life," Tshepo recalled.
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