Meet Keily

Keily, an 11-month-old girl born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, was the first child to undergo an operation in the new, state-of-the-art Kenneth C. Griffin Surgical Tower at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital on September 26. 

Her surgery, performed by Dr. Jordan Steinberg, Medical Director of the Nicklaus Children’s Craniofacial Center, marked a significant milestone in the hospital’s 75-year history of ensuring children never have to leave the region for quality pediatric surgical care.

Children born with both cleft lip and palate are cared for at the Nicklaus Children’s Craniofacial Center, a multidisciplinary program that ensures children born with craniofacial differences receive care from an expert pediatric team specialized in these conditions. These specialists include plastic and ENT surgeons, dentists, geneticists, audiologists, speech therapists, psychologists, and many more to ensure the care provided is seamless throughout every step of the child’s medical journey.

Dr. Jordan Steinberg says children with cleft lip and palate anomalies typically require a series of non-surgical and surgical interventions. “The main concerns, aside from the physical aspects, are to ensure the child will be able to speak and eat independently. Our goal is to offer children like Keily the ability to lead healthy lives free of any limitations,” he said.

“Keily’s family was referred to our Craniofacial Center as soon as she was born, so we were able to plan all the stages of her treatment and surgeries with them. They met with all the doctors, nurses and caregivers that would be caring for her, and we provided her parents with a clear picture of what they could expect throughout each step of her journey,” said Dr. Steinberg.

Keily has a bright future and outlook. Her parents say they are so grateful for the care they have received for their daughter.

Watch her story.

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