Cultural "latrogenic" Cleft Palate
Pediatricians are familiar with congenital cleft palates and those occurring as a part of a multisystem abnormality. We have encountered a child with a cultural "iatrogenic" cleft palate. The patient is a 5-year-old girl who appeared normal until 4 months of age, at which time she became febrile and had difficulty breathing as a result of an upper respiratory tract infection. She was not attended to by a physician, but a uvulectomy, supposedly to prevent respiratory distress, was performed by a laywoman considered by the villagers to be a "specialist" in the procedure. Following the uvulectomy, the infant experienced feeding difficulty, choking on solid and liquid foods.