Our specialists use craniofacial reconstructive surgery to address face and skull conditions caused by congenital malformations, injury, infection, tumor and non-healing wounds, among others. Children and adults can be affected by acquired and congenital craniofacial disfigurements, but congenital causes typically need treatment in early childhood. For adults, injury and illness are the most common causes of craniofacial differences.
Why Choose Us?
Children requiring craniofacial surgery are treated by our specialists at St. Louis Children’s Hospital and its Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Institute, the Midwest’s epicenter for treatment of cleft palate and other craniofacial conditions. In fact, this team has helped more than 4,300 children with cleft lip and cleft palate, and more than 3,000 children with other craniofacial conditions. We specialize in using nasoalveolar molding, also called NAM, for treating cleft lip, and we are renowned for our innovations in the treatment of craniosynostosis conditions in infants.
Conditions We Treat
- Fractures or injury to the face, jaw and orbit (old and new)
- Facial changes following head and neck cancer surgery
- Depressed-skull deformities and abnormal head shape
- Ear malformations (congenital and post-traumatic)
- Lip and nose conditions caused by cleft lip/palate (adults and children)
- Nasal deformities
- Blemishes, moles, tumors, scars, keloids of the head and neck
- Deformities from skin cancer
- Vascular or other complex malformations of the head, face and neck
- Wounds of the head and neck
- Cleft lip and palate
- Craniosynostosis
- Craniofacial microsomia
- Jaw malformations
- Prominent ears
Request an Appointment
Schedule by phone
New and existing patients, call:
314-362-7388
For a pediatric plastic surgeon, call:
1-800-283-5848
Patient Care
What to expect
We strive to deliver compassionate care to all. You can rely on your surgical team to discuss with you all treatment options thoroughly, including benefits and potential risks. And once treatment begins, we will collaborate with you and any other physicians involved to ensure treatment is as effective and efficient as possible.
Preparing for your visit
Before your first meeting with one of our specialists, we encourage you to spend some time thinking about the goals you want treatment to help you achieve. Make a list of questions you have and concerns about treatment you’d like to discuss, and bring them with you. Your specialist will have lots of questions for you, too, so come prepared to talk about your health history and your current condition. In some situations, it can be helpful to invite a trusted family member or friend to accompany you to your appointment as they may have a perspective that is relevant and valuable—and may be helpful to you in discussions after your appointment as you consider treatment options.
Our craniofacial surgeons currently treat adults at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital; children are treated at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, where care is provided through its Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Institute.
Patient Resources
Following is a select library of materials you may find helpful. If you’d like to learn more, please read:
- Tips For Feeding an Infant with Cleft Lip and Palate
- Speech-Language Therapy Collaborative Care Program
Our Physicians
Dennis Cuu Nguyen, MD, MS
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Kamlesh B. Patel, MD
Associate Professor of Surgery
- Director of Craniofacial Surgery at St. Louis Children’s Hospital
- Medical Director of St. Louis Children’s Hospital Operating Rooms
- Co-Director of 3D Printing Center at St. Louis Children’s Hospital
Alison Snyder-Warwick , MD
Associate Director, Plastic Surgery Residency Program
- Assistant Professor of Surgery
- Director of the Facial Nerve Institute Co-Director of the Cleft Palate and Craniofacial Institute at St. Louis Children’s Hospital
- Continuing Medical Education Chair