Quality of life of children treated for cleft lip or palate in a selected South African population: a questionnaire-based survey of guardian/parent perspectives

Background Cleft lip or palate are defects that affect the orofacial region and continue to be a serious public health challenge impacting the quality of life of affected patients. Surgical repair of the cleft lip or palate has been the most effective treatment for correcting these facial defects. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of life of children treated for cleft lip or palate in a selected South African population. Methods Fifty patients aged 1 to 13 years, diagnosed with non-syndromic cleft lip or palate, were evaluated six months post-surgery. The QoL of children with cleft lip and/or palate was assessed through parent-reported Likert scale ratings across physical, psychological, and social health domains. Results Patients with cleft lip only reported lower QoL scores in the social health domain (63.5%). Those with unilateral cleft lip and palate showed reduced scores in the psychological health domain (57.1%), while patients with bilateral cleft lip and palate had lower scores in the physical health domain (71.1%). In contrast, children with cleft palate only demonstrated higher QoL scores across all health domains. Female participants reported higher scores in both the psychological (61.5%) and physical (85%) health domains. Notably, children aged 10–13 years had the lowest scores across all domains of health. Conclusion Patients with a cleft palate only showed an increase in QoL than the other cleft subtypes. Females had an increased QoL than males, and children in the 1-3 age group exhibited higher QoL scores than older age groups.