This is the incredible transformation of a brave baby girl born with a severe bilateral cleft lip, whose facial features are being carefully reshaped before she even undergoes her first major surgery.

Heartwarming photographs shared by the Cleft and Craniofacial Center at Brown University Health capture the infant’s journey, shedding light on a pioneering pre-surgical treatment that is changing the lives of hundreds of newborns.

The first image shows the vulnerable newborn just days after birth, sporting a wide, double-sided gap stretching from her upper lip right into her tiny nostrils. The condition, known as a bilateral cleft lip and palate, occurs when the soft tissues of the face fail to fuse properly during the early stages of pregnancy. It can leave families devastated and frantic for answers, as infants struggle with the basic mechanics of feeding.

But fast-forward just a couple of months, and the second photograph reveals an astonishing difference.

Now estimated to be between one and four months old, the bright-eyed baby looks directly at the camera, wearing a specialized medical device strapped gently across her face. The innovative system, called Nasoalveolar Molding (NAM), uses a custom-fitted dental plate and medical tape to slowly and painlessly pull the split tissues together.

Medical experts say the non-surgical therapy takes advantage of the highly pliable cartilage found in newborns during their first few weeks of life. By narrowing the gap and reshaping the nose early on, surgeons can achieve far better aesthetic results when the time comes to finally stitch the lip together.
For this little fighter, the daily molding process means her upcoming surgery will be significantly easier, less invasive, and will pave the way for a beautifully seamless smile.

The treatment typically wraps up by the time a baby reaches three to six months of age, at which point they are cleared for their definitive corrective surgery. And judging by those wide, curious eyes, this little star is more than ready for her brand-new chapter.

Source: brownhealth.org