Joyful Milestone: Baby Girl's Laughter Rings Out Following Successful Cleft Palate Surgery

Riley Johnson, from Baltimore, Maryland, USA, was born without a complete palate, the features of the mouth and upper lip of the girl were not developed in the womb.

With this deformity, girls have trouble eating, and pronouncing some letters will also make it difficult for girls.

However, last month, the little girl had surgery on her lips and the bottom of her nose, which made the 7-month-old girl laugh and say the letters ‘m’ for the first time.


Beautiful smile of a baby girl after the first surgery

Her mother, Angela, said: ‘When my baby finished the surgery and left the operating room I cried, the baby was so beautiful, I felt very lucky.

“Before the baby’s mouth was open and her nose wasn’t attached to the mouth, she didn’t seem to have any nostrils.”





“Now that he’s settled, the baby will be able to participate in social activities and won’t be subjected to any objections, the baby will grow up happy and confident.”

“The baby can completely close her mouth and seems very happy, plus if she doesn’t want to eat now she can keep her lips closed.”

“The baby smiles a lot now, the smile is so different from before, it was always wide and drooling.”

Riley’s mouth laceration was discovered shortly after an ultrasound at 20 weeks.



The baby’s mother added: “I worry about social prejudices, my daughter will face other children and especially the appearance of a girl to a boy.”


“Strangers often stare and show lack of tact when asking about my daughter”

But after seven-hour surgery last month, the girl is smiling more and is learning to pronounce the word ‘mom’.





The baby could never say anything with the ‘m’ before, but now she’s practicing her voice – before she was just screaming.

“What shocked me was when they announced the surgery cost only $6,500, it was rare, hard to find,” said the baby’s mother.