Three-year-old Has a Split Uvula - Bifid Uvula.....

Hello,

This might not be very helpful, but I am 27 years old and have had a split uvula my whole life and have had no problems or surgeries. I have no speech problems and I have not had my tonsils or adnoids removed so I am not the same as your son, just thought I'd let you know my experience with the situation.

N.

Hi Peace and Blessings
I have a son with cleft uvula , in the beginning he spoke nasally
I was afraid, in my country usually the children with such problem
has to live like that for the rest of their lives , don't know what happens today with advance technology . however i always rely on the supreme LORD FOR ALL ANSWERS. i prayed and personally did speech therapy , when i came to ny i was told he needed surgery by some people but when i took him to clinic
1 doctor said yes and another asked if myself or school had any problem understanding him the answer was no. no surgery was done, he's now 26 yrs old. the key for us was myself teaching him to speak hard work once in awhile frustration but to me it worked ALL GLORIES TO THE SUPREME LORD

Hi there. My son is now 3 and also has a split uvula.. Last year he had surgery for the removal of adenoids, and put in ear tubes. after the surgery the doctor explained he discovered my son has a deformed uvula, bcuz of this he couldnt remove the entire adenoid, and some a small chunk to prevent food and liquid from slipping out of his nose. When he brought this to my attention, i became hesitant to learn more about it. Days after the surgery my son chocked on food, and saliva, I called the surgeon to explain the situation but he insisted that i not worry because he left some tissue of adenoids there to prevent the food or liquid from getting into his nose.. As per my research, children with split uvula should not have the adenoids totally removed. Months after the surgery, I took my son on to a second opinion, The specialist indicated my son needed surgery for the tonsils because they were huge, and in fact i knew he did so i agreed. repeatly infections, stinky breath, and the other thing that came to my mind, maybe this is why he chokes, but at the same time he says his adenoids look pretty big. I quickly explained our recent experience and I became very concern with this decision. he said he would examine it at the time and make proper decision... Today he had surgery, the doc indicated the baby only had a small chunk of adenoids which didn't make a difference having it there because it was already becoming infected.. :0/ , so he removed it completely.. Now, i'm in so much worry and hoping this wont affect my son in the long run..Bottom line is some surgeon are more concern about proceeding with unnecessary surgeries just to make that money while caring less about the child... so be very careful with this and always remember not everyone elses experience could be yours.. Good Luck

J.,
Hi this is A.. I have not had experience with this problem. However, it has been my experience to get a second and even third opinion when it comes to dealing with these types of things. Also, checking out some reputable internet sites should give you some more info on his condition, that way you can talk with the doctors better and be able to ask questions. Normally, for every one solution there are two equally good alternatives. Just remember, you are the mom, and no one knows him better than you! You will be able to discern the best path to take! Hope this helps a little bit!

I don't really have any information regarding the bifid uvula, but I do have some information regarding speech deficits with adenoid and tonsil removal. I am a speech pathologist with just under 2 years of experience working. I have had two children on my caseload (not a lot) that are being seen for hypernasal speech due to this removal. The hypernasality is caused when the soft palate does not move to the back of the throat, which causes air to leak out through the nose instead of the air going out through the mouth. It can range from very mild to more profound, but both of the children that I see with this same issue are doing well with their speech. If you can detect a change in your child's speech, don't hesitate to call and refer him for an evaluation by a speech pathologist through your school district. The sooner you can get your child in for therapy, the better the outcome. Good luck!

From another J. S :-)

My oldest son has a bifid uvula, had his tonsils and adenoids removed and hasn't had ANY problems whatsoever. I am a nurse, and I haven't heard any need to be overly concerned about deformities with a bifid uvula. As I was told, it just happens sometimes, unusual, but it happens.

But anyway, as I said, zero problems at all with my son. His tonsil/adenoidectomy improved his quality of life a GREAT deal.

Good Luck!

My daughter (now 7) had lots of problems with her sinus. The doc decided to take out her adenoids but left everything else. After seeing the doc at Riley, we found out she had a split uvula (how we didn't notice before then....who knows). Anyway, no cleft palete and the surgery went great. No issues since. All the breathing treatments, colds, chest x-rays were gone immedietely. No speech problems. That's really all I know. Hope it helps a little........

J.,
Hi there. This is my obession of research. My son was born with a rare form of midline cleft lip, so I have spent the last 4 years researching and meeting people.

With the bifid uvula - the worries are around a submucous cleft palate, which means the skin closed but the muscles underneath did not close.

Does your son have speech issues now? That is the biggest marker of a SCP.
Is this the end of the world? No. Will it require some work? Yes.

I belong to a great online community, www.cleftadvocate.org
that can answer just about any question you have.

Also, my son had his tonsils and adenoids out as well, and he did fine with them. They thought for ever he had a SCP as well with his cleft (due to the way it looks) but they can tell before they take out the adenoids.

You can email me privately if you like..

S., mommy to John IV.

My son, who is now 8, has the same thing. When he was 3 he went into surgery for the removal of tonsils and adenoids. When the ENT came out of surgery is when he told me he realized that my son had a split uvula. He removed his tonsils and did a partial adenoidectomy. He told me that if we ever moved to never let anyone remove all of his adenoids because it would cause sever speech problems. We have moved recently and just went to an ENT who told me he would be fine if his adenoids were removed b/c he doesn't have a soft palate. He isn't suggesting removing them he was just letting me know. I am NOT taking any chances. Even if anyone ever suggests it I am not doing it. I would make exactly sure you know what they are planning on doing before you let them remove his adenoids. I hope this helps!

My son had his adenoids removed and tubes put in his ears. He has speech probs because he had wax build up. that is why the tubes. the adenoids do not have anything to do with speech. he had his out b/c e snores. they interfere with breathing. best to get them out. good luck