Complete Cleft Care: Cleft and Velopharyngeal Insufficiency Treatment in Children

Edited by Steven L. Goudy and Travis T. Tollefson. Thieme Medical Publishers; 2015; 228 pp; $149.99.

This is a well-designed and -executed text on the management of cleft lip and palate deformities in children. The authors are highly experienced and respected clinicians with strong commitments to cleft care. This text covers all pertinent topics in this field, from genetics, family counseling, and presurgical management through primary and secondary surgical care. The authors included in this work were selected for their expertise and perspective in the field. There is a commitment to clarity and organization in this text, with flow diagrams, illustrations, and high-quality intraoperative photographs which beautifully supplement the text. The chapters on surgical management are well-written, concise, and thoughtful, and even readers who are new or newly returning to the topic will have an excellent appreciation of the management of cleft patients. The authors present their preferred techniques in detail, and they also present historical and current alternative techniques, providing the reader with an excellent perspective. Each chapter includes an evaluation of levels of evidence for various techniques and interventions described, a unique addition to such a text which enriches the reader's comprehension of cleft treatment. In the final chapter, the authors describe the challenges and needs of humanitarian cleft care missions, a topic rarely included in surgical texts, and reflect on the authors' and editors' commitment to the care of cleft patients worldwide.

Complete Cleft Care: Cleft and Velopharyngeal Insufficiency Treatment in Children is a welcome addition and provides an important update to the cleft care literature. This text is appropriate for surgeons of all levels, most especially residents and practicing physicians involved in the care of patients with cleft lip and palate.