Occurrence of oro-facial malformations in a tertiary center hospital of Southern Italy: retrospective study on ten thousand newborns

Congenital anomalies (CA) are one of the major cause of infant mortality and childhood morbitity, affecting 2-3% of all babies. Approximately 1% of these newborns have syndromes or multiple anomalies; Cranio-facial anomalies are often a component part of these pathologies. Several newborns with cranio-facial anomalies are affected by syndromes composed of multiple malformations thought to be etiologically and/ or pathogenetically related. One of the most frequent sign of these syndromes is the cleft lip and/or cleft palate. It is estimated that 30% of cleft cases are syndromic and conversely, therefore, approximately 70% are non-syndromic. Oral clefts are among the most widely known and com…