Thanks to the work of surgeons at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH), there is little trace of three-year-old Riccardo Duke’s congenital mouth defect.

Riccardo’s cleft lip and palate was discovered while still in utero, during his mother’s 20 week scan. The new mother, Maria, was distraught to learn that her first baby would be born with what was described as a hole in his face.

Two weeks after his birth, Riccardo was seen by RCH Craniofacial plastic surgeon Dr David Chong. Dr Chong and medical staff at the RCH have revolutionised the way cleft lip and palates are repaired, by using a highly planned and exacting technique that requires accuracy down to the millimetre.

So revolutionary is this technique that it has garnered interest throughout the world, attracting the attention of American and Canadian surgeons who have visited the RCH to learn how to perform the procedure.

Riccardo is part of a growing generation of children whose facial defects are almost invisible as a result of this new technique. The happy little boy, who doctors had expected would experience speech difficulties, has no such issue and doesn’t stop talking until he closes his eyes to go to sleep.