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Topamax can cause birth defects, including cleft palate, cleft lip, and genital and skeletal deformities. Please contact us immediately for a free consultation on a Topamax birth defect. We are standing by now to explain to you questions about Topamax lawsuits, Topamax class action lawsuits, Topamax injuries and Topamax side effects.
One potential side effect of taking Topamax while pregnant is that ingestion may cause a cleft palate in an infant. Cleft palate is the term applied to a fissure of the roof of the mouth usually present at birth and often combined with a divided or cleft lip (hare lip). The incidence of cleft palate and/or cleft lip is about 0.2% of total births. About one sixth of the children with this problem also have other problems which may include mental handicap. Deafness is also common.
A cleft is a separation of parts of the mouth usually joined together during the early weeks of fetal development. A cleft lip is separation of the upper lip and often the upper dental ridge. A cleft palate is a separation of the hard or soft palate and occurs with or without a cleft lip. Because of the lack of closure between the oral and nasal cavities, newborns have difficulty maintaining sufficient negative pressure to express liquid from a nipple. The infant’s tongue does not have an upper surface to express milk from the breast or bottle.
Cleft lips and palates are closed through surgery. Surgeons can repair cleft lips in the first few months of life. Repair of a cleft palate is more extensive, and the surgeon generally waits until the infant reaches a certain weight, usually by 12 months of age. Generally, surgeons perform multiple procedures to correct the abnormalities. These surgeries include bone grafting, orthodontic repair, and placement of ear tubes.
Feeding can be a major challenge because of the way the infant’s mouth is affected. In order to feed, the baby must grip with the mouth and close off the nasal cavity to create a chamber of reduced pressure into which milk is drawn. When a suitable amount of milk has been taken into the mouth, a swallow is triggered – and all this must be achieved while continuing to breathe. Feeding can be stressful and exhausting, and takes much longer than for unaffected infants. In some cases an infant may have to be fed via a syringe, and sometimes a gastric tube is inserted surgically to enable an infant or small child to feed sufficiently. If a newborn is not to remain in hospital, the parents may have to learn to use special equipment and nutritional supplements or their baby will fail to thrive.
If your child was born with cleft lip, cleft palate or any other birth defect after you took Topamax when pregnant, do not delay in calling us for help.
Members of our Firm are currently representing and seeking clients who have taken several prescription drugs and claim injuries associated with those drugs, including Wellbutrin, Paxil, Topamax, Avandia, Accutane and Reglan. We also represent clients across the globe pertaining to medical device failures, including the Advanced Bionics HiRes90k cochlear implant, the Gynecare Prolift transvaginal mesh – sling and the DePuy hip implant.
For a free case evaluation and to immediately discuss the facts of your potential claim, please contact us before your time to act runs out:
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