This lecture is part of the Interdisciplinary Medical & Health Seminars. Guest speaker: Em. Prof. Anne Marie Kuijpers-Jagtman

Children with an orofacial cleft need comprehensive, coordinated care by an interdisciplinary team. 2D and 3D-imaging techniques have taught us that each surgical intervention can have its own specific effect on subsequent maxillofacial growth. It is clear from experimental and clinical research that surgical repair of the cleft deformity results in a facial growth pattern that differs from the non-cleft individual. Research into the development and characteristics of scar tissue will translate into clinical applications reaching our goal that the benefits of surgery outweigh the adverse effects. Close collaboration with scientists in biomedical basic sciences, 3D-technology in health care, health technology assessment, and other science fields provides unique opportunities to aim for a better future for individuals with an orofacial cleft.