A technique using umbilical cord blood stem cells could be a promising new approach for repair of cleft palate in infants, according to a report published in the September issue of the Journal of Craniofacial Surgery.
Performed as part of reconstructive surgery when the infant is a few months old, the procedure provides positive results in growing new bone to close the upper jaw cleft and may avoid the need for later bone graft surgery, according to paper author Alejandro Garcia Botero, MD, of Hospital De San José in Bogota, Colombia.
Dr. Botero and his colleagues reported their experience with the stem cell procedure in an infant with an alveolar cleft. Immediately following delivery, a sample of the infant’s umbilical cord blood was collected to isolate stem cells, which were processed and frozen.