This little boy was born with a cleft palate, which is an abnormality
found in 12% of all new borns. If one of the parents was born with
a cleft, the child's chances of having one is increased by 4%.
As you can see from the above diagram a cleft palate is the case where
the roof of the mouth (the palate) is not joined. There are several layers
to the palate.
The initial layer is regular skin. Under that you have the hard
palate, which is basically bone. Underneath that is a layer of muscle
and other tissue. By having the nasal passage shared as such with the
mouth, a child's speech will develop in an abnormal manner. Also, his
voice will sound hypernasal, and will not have the audible capabilities
of most kids.
In this surgery, the doctor will detach all the layers previously
mentioned, which are attached on the sides of the cleft tract, and
join them together in the middle as it should be.
A few follow up surgeries will be required to help shape
the mouth, and passage correctly, but treatment for this condition is
fairly trivial and common.