A SPECIALIST cleft lip and palate surgeon has performed his 1,000th operation on a North-East baby boy.

Specialist cleft lip and palate surgeon Peter Hodgkinson carried out his milestone operation on five month old Lewis Hatfield, from Teesside.

Lewis, who was born six weeks early in May, was the 1,000th baby to undergo surgery to correct the cleft lip and soft palate behind the gum.

The two hour operation, at the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle, will be the first to treat the areas of Lewis’ mouth which did not fully form while in the womb.

Mr Hodgkinson, said: “One in every 600 babies in the Northern region is born with a cleft – a gap in the lip or in the roof of the mouth. Because we are able to discover the condition so early on during the foetal scanning process, we can prepare the family for surgery before the baby is born, and carry out the operation during the first six months of the baby’s life.”

“Only a day after his operation, he has been able to go home and get used to the changes in his mouth. We will now keep an eye on Lewis’ progress and he’ll come back in another four or five months’ time for further surgery.”

Lewis’ parents have been prepared for this moment since before he was born as his condition was seen on the 20 week scan at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough.

His mother, Michelle Satterthwaite, who works as a fundraiser at Butterwick Hospice in Stockton said: “Within 24 hours of the scan we were visited by a nurse who specialises in this condition. She explained everything to us and started to prepare us for the surgery that Lewis would need when he was a little older.”