Comprehensive cleft and craniofacial care

The Center for Craniofacial Care at Children’s Hospital or Richmond at VCU specializes in treating children with cleft lip and palate, craniofacial conditions and vascular malformations.

We are recognized as a Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Approved Team by the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association, which means we are among the most experienced pediatric craniofacial specialists in the country.

See conditions we treat
Learn about our specialized services
Meet our craniofacial team

Why choose CHoR for cleft and craniofacial treatment?

A coordinated team approach: Our mission is make sure your child receive the best care possible. All of our specialists work together to help children and their families with all aspects of care related to their condition, to provide care and support as a child grows, and to serve as a resource for both families and health care providers.
Our center is made up of providers from over 15 specialties: Our craniofacial center is made up of health care providers who are part of specialized, multidisciplinary care teams.
Our pediatric neurosurgeons are the most experienced in the region: Our dedicated and compassionate surgeons utilize state-of-the-art technology and minimally invasive procedures to address the needs of those we serve. In addition, we provide the only dedicated 24/7 pediatric anesthesia team in the community. Each member of the team has specialized training in pediatric anesthesiology, and all have considerable experience in pediatric surgery.
A unique treatment plan is created for your child: Our teams meet weekly to evaluate and develop a treatment plan for each child. Team members see the child and family during multidisciplinary clinic appointments, then meet face to face to develop a plan based on all the needs of the child. They are available to follow a child between appointments as needed or to work with a child’s local health care providers.
Receive care from infancy through adulthood: We provide both surgical expertise and individualized care to ensure that each child’s surgical, speech, visual, dental, developmental and psychosocial needs are met with excellent and coordinated care as long as needed, from infancy through adulthood.

Conditions we treat

We provide care for a variety of conditions children are born with (congenital conditions) as well as conditions that may occur during a child’s life. These include:

Our specialized clinics and services

Our center offers expert guidance on both surgical and non-surgical options, such as:

Craniofacial surgery: Our craniofacial team performs all types of craniofacial surgery. The most common surgeries are for cleft lip and palate and craniosynostosis.
Airway evaluations
Dental consultation: Pediatric dentistry, orthodontics, and oral and maxillofacial surgery
Feeding consultation
Pre-adoption counseling
Prenatal counseling
Speech/language consultation
Infant head shape screening: We provide expert diagnosis when there are concerns about your infant’s head shape. This clinic is staffed by a neurosurgeon and a craniofacial surgeon. Families who come for a screening can often obtain an accurate diagnosis without having to get X-rays or CT scans. Plagiocephaly (flattened spot on back or side of head) and craniosynostosis (unusual skull shape) are among the conditions we see most often in this clinic.