The face is a focus when it comes to physical attractiveness. This part of the body represents the person's identity and is the part most exposed to public view. Thus, whether a person is in general considered beautiful or not depends much on facial beauty. Children born with cleft lip and other kinds of facial disfigurement can experience far-reaching psychosocial problems. They may end up with very negative self perceptions and have difficulties in any kind of social interaction. At times they may be avoided or even rejected by the general public. Rotaplast gives these children a new “go” at life. For the parents, who have only known this one little face, there is often an adjustment in order to get used to the  new "look" that the child that they love so much will have after surgery.

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Pediatric Nurse Practitioner, Nan Madden, (seen above) talks to the parents before the children and babies go into surgery. She explains that today is the last time they are going to see their little one with this look. Many times they become tearful and have to go through a little bit of a grieving process. She counsels them that they will soon find acceptance of their child’s beautiful new face. For many parents, their tears are tears of joy in anticipation for what they have been waiting for for so long.

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Seven-year-old Michael has undergone four surgeries since 2007 – three of them with Rotaplast – involving a bilateral lip repair, a palate repair, and a nose and lip revision. His mother and father, above, holding Michael after his surgery, expressed utmost gratefulness to Rotaplast for what it has given Michael. Before, his mother offered, he would not look at himself in a mirror, but now it is his greatest joy to look at his face. In this picture he is a little out of it, but when he is fully awake he will be beaming. Deb-michael_IGP4369

Above: Head OR Nurse, Deborah Dean, chats with Michael and his Mom before surgery. And here's that wonderful smile:
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