The Brazilian woman with cleft lip and palate who posed for Vogue and became a lipstick model – 01/26/2023 – Equilíbrio

It was still during pregnancy that the mother of makeup artist and model Raiza Bernardo Barbosa, from São Roque (São Paulo), discovered that her daughter would be born with a cleft lip and palate, a characteristic formerly known as cleft lip.

Not knowing exactly what this malformation was, the woman was referred for follow-up at USP’s Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies (HRAC/Centrinho), in Bauru, where Raiza, 26, is undergoing rehabilitation and treatment to this day. (VSee below what cleft lip and palate is and the treatment offered in Brazil.)

“My diagnosis was a surprise, my mother did not know what it was and in my family there was no case of cleft lip and palate. At that time, there was no internet, information was scarce, my mother says that she had to look for information on everything. manually, talking to people and doctors,” says the make-up artist.

At just eight months old, Raiza underwent her first surgery to correct her labrum. In total, she has had four procedures, including a lip graft – the procedures closed the cleft in her lip, the roof of her mouth and repaired the malformation in her gums. Raiza’s fissure is unilateral and affects the nose and mouth on the left side of the face. Two more surgeries still need to be done.

“I also put an internal device in my left ear – due to the malformation, I had hearing loss. To finish my treatment, I still need to have surgery to repair my nose and another to dislocate my jaw”, adds Raiza.

It has been more than two decades of treatment and follow-up with a multidisciplinary team composed of several specialists such as speech therapists, dentists, otorhinolaryngologists, psychologists and plastic surgeons.

Prejudice

Raiza claims that the surgical procedures and recovery were never an issue. However, dealing with people’s eyes and prejudice was something that made her try to hide from the world for a long time.

According to the makeup artist, adolescence was the worst phase. As a victim of bullying at school, she tried to cover the scar and correct imperfections caused by the cleft lip and palate with makeup and even avoided speaking so that other students would not make jokes with her voice, which had a nasal tone due to the malformation.

“My childhood was very calm, I played, I smiled, I didn’t have much understanding of the situation and, for me, everything was normal. As a teenager, that’s when I got to know prejudice. Having to go to school was very difficult because I wanted to be myself. fit in with the other students, but I couldn’t always, so I avoided going out, talking and I had a psychological block where I never talked about my fissure, the subject hurt me a lot”, he says.

Exposure on social networks

It was at age 21 that the make-up artist says she began to accept herself again and then decided to start talking about it on social media. In addition to her personal profile, she created the Beauty Fissurada page on Instagram, dedicated entirely to the topic.

On social networks, the makeup artist produces content about self-esteem, female empowerment and addresses the issue of the unrealistic beauty standard imposed by society in general. Most followers, about 80%, are people with cleft lip and palate, and Raiza has become an activist for the cause.

“Today, fissure, for me, is a purpose. When I was a teenager, I never had a person who was fissured for me to be inspired, so I had to be my own inspiration. Therefore, I try to talk about the subject by showing the difficulties and also that it is possible to have a normal life”, he says.

And it was precisely through social networks that Raiza gained space and also started giving lectures on the subject. During a social action that was as a guest, she met the model Isabel Hickman, who has a son who was born with the cleft, and was nominated to be the first woman with the condition to do a photo shoot for Vogue magazine in Portugal.

After the photos, published in the December issue, several doors opened for the make-up artist, who received invitations from make-up brands for advertisements, mainly for lipsticks.

“Representing the cause, for me, has been a legacy. We need to bring more information about the subject, there is still a very great need for these people. It is necessary to demystify the subject, bring the truth and not romanticize the challenges”, he concludes. .

What is cleft lip and palate

Cleft lip and palate is the most common craniofacial malformation at birth, affecting one in every 650 babies in Brazil. During pregnancy, failures in facial formation may occur, leading to the appearance of cleft lip (open lip) and cleft palate (“open roof of the mouth”).

There are two types of cracks and the distinction between them is linked to the factors that lead to their occurrence. Non-syndromic fissures – the most common, with 70% of registered cases – have a multifactorial origin, that is, interactions between environmental and genetic factors. The most known environmental factors that are at risk for fissures are: alcohol, cigarettes and some medications such as corticosteroids and anticonvulsants, when used by the mother in the first trimester of pregnancy.

Syndromic fissures, on the other hand, can be caused by gene mutations and chromosomal alterations.

“In the first ultrasounds, usually performed at three months of pregnancy, it is possible to diagnose the presence of fissures. After the diagnosis, the pregnant woman needs to be referred to specialized services to receive guidance on all the care that the baby will need after delivery. birth”, explains Daniela Franco Bueno, dental surgeon, member of the clinical staff of the Municipal Children’s Hospital Menino Jesus and Hospital Sírio-Libanês.

The Hospital Municipal Infantil Menino Jesus (HMIMJ), managed by the Sírio Libanês Social Responsibility Institute, is a reference for patients born with cleft lip and palate in the city of São Paulo. Through the Mãe Paulistana program, babies from public maternity hospitals in the city of São Paulo who are born with the malformation are referred to the HMIMJ, where they are treated by the multidisciplinary team free of charge.

Treatment

The treatment of cleft lip and palate is complex, involves a multidisciplinary team and lasts for most of the patient’s life. Everything is offered free of charge by the Unified Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde).

It is recommended that in the first months of life, nose shapers and intra-oral functional orthopedic appliances are placed, when necessary, and then, between 3 and 6 months of age, cheiloplasty surgery is performed (to close the lip).

“Follow-up should begin during pregnancy because these children will have some difficulty feeding, especially in the case of wider fissures, and depending on the extent, it may compromise breastfeeding and feeding that baby”, explains doctor Cristiano Tonello, head of the department. HRAC-USP Hospital (Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies at USP), a reference in the treatment of cleft lip and palate, in the interior of São Paulo. Currently, about 50,000 people are followed up at the hospital by the SUS.

At approximately 18 months, palatoplasty is performed (to close the palate) and, approximately, between 7 and 12 years, an alveolar bone graft is performed – where the bone is taken from the iliac crest (pelvis) and placed to close the alveolar bone ( bone under the gum). This procedure can also be performed in adulthood.

This text was originally published here