Marc Swan

I completed my Doctorate at Trinity College, Oxford, where I was awarded the Thirunavukkarasu Scholarship. My higher surgical training was undertaken within the Oxford Deanery. Having obtained the FRCS (Plast) in 2011 I then undertook specialist cleft training at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, Canada, and at Great Ormond Street Hospital, London.

I undertake the primary surgical management of children referred to the Spires Cleft Centre and care for families from antenatal diagnosis to adulthood. My interests include trans-oral robotic cleft surgery and secondary cleft surgery including speech surgery and rhinoplasty.

I am committed to training the cleft surgeons of the future – both in the UK and in the developing world – and am a member of the Oxford University Global Surgery Group. I have been most involved with surgical training in Uganda and India and am looking forward to joining Brian Sommerlad on a visit to Sri Lanka this autumn with the aim of developing a twinning partnership with the Spires Cleft Centre.

I am passionate about research, with a focus on improving aesthetic and functional outcomes in children with orofacial clefts, incorporating patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) into routine clinical practice, and harnessing the potential for machine learning. I have published over one hundred peer review articles and book chapters. I am a Co-Applicant for the NIHR Cleft@18-23 Study and co-supervise a PhD student whose project aims to improve the surgical care for children born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, and an MD student who is investigating the optimal surgical management of wide cleft palates.

I am thrilled to be joining the CLEFT team and look forward to working to raise the standard of global cleft surgery so that every child born with an orofacial cleft can access high-quality life changing cleft care.

Latest

Call for Research Proposals 2026

We invite researchers to submit high quality proposals for research grants of up to a maximum of £60,000. Proposals should focus on either clinical or basic science questions relevant to CLEFT’s research objectives. We welcome applications for smaller grants.
Georgie's Half Marathon Fundraiser

I’m fundraising to support CLEFT, a charity close to my heart, helping children born with cleft lip and palate access life-changing surgery and care. Inspired by my mum’s experience, I want to raise awareness and give back so more families receive the support they need.
Gozde's first ever Half Marathon to raise funds for CLEFT

This October, I’m taking on my first ever half marathon to raise money for CLEFT. Running 13.1 miles is not something I would normally do, but after working with CLEFT over the past three years and seeing the impact of their work, I wanted to push myself to take on this challenge for a cause I really believe in.
Ollie's Half Marathon for CLEFT

This October, I'm taking on the Royal Parks Half Marathon: 13.1 miles through four of London's most beautiful parks to raise money for CLEFT. I am raising money to provide long-term, sustainable ways to improve cleft care both in the UK and overseas.

Madhavi Seshu

Consultant Cleft Orthodontist, Alder Hey Hospital Liverpool
Rowan Griffiths

Photojournalist based in South Wales
Chloé Rolland

Consultant Orthodontist
Liz Grant
Paul Whittaker

I began working with CLEFT as a filmmaker and photographer in 2016, initially to highlight the progress of the multi-disciplinary cleft centre CLEFT has helped create in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Kate Le Marechal

Dr Kate le Maréchal is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist who has worked as the Clinical Psychology Lead within the Evelina London Cleft Service since 2009.
David Orr, Consultant Plastic Surgeon

David Orr has been a Consultant Plastic Surgeon at Our Lady's Children's Hospital and St James's Hospital, Dublin since 1998.
Triona Sweeney

Dr Triona Sweeney (BA, MSc, PhD) is a Cleft Specialist Speech & Language Therapist. She is a Founder and co-Director with Dr Debbie Sell of Speech at Home, an online therapy resource centre which aims to empower parents of children with cleft palate to deliver speech therapy at home under the supervision of a speech and language therapist.
Neil Brierley

I am currently working as a national TIG fellow in Cleft Lip and Palate surgery in the Northern and Yorkshire Cleft Lip & Palate service. I live in Leeds with my son.
Khurram Khan, Consultant Cleft Lip & Palate and Plastic Surgeon

Hello! I am a Consultant Cleft Lip & Palate and Plastic Surgeon working at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Donate to CLEFT

You can make a one-off donation today or sign up to giving a regular monthly gift. All donations, small or large, will help us to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate both now and in the future.
Our mission

CLEFT was established in 2007 with one aim, to help improve the lives of children born with cleft lip and palate, either by funding research into the likely causes of the condition or by helping support teams in lower and middle income countries.
National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery

We are working with Bangladeshi specialists at the new National Institute of Burns and Plastic Surgery to create a sustainable centre to treat children with cleft lip and palate.
Nawrin and the C-Arm

This important piece of equipment was supplied by CLEFT and is used to see moving images of the cleft palate. Nawrin is a 13 year old girl who was experiencing speech difficulties and needed the C-Arm to show the cleft team if further surgery was required.
About us

CLEFT was established in 2007 by cleft surgeon Brian Sommerlad - based at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, together with a former patient and a patient's grandmother.
The genetics of cleft lip and palate

Investigations into the genetics of cleft lip and palate to understand more about why cleft lip and palate occurs.
Brian Sommerlad, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and Chair of Trustees

For over 40 years, I have been involved in operating on babies, children and adults who have been born with cleft lip and/or palate.
Our research vision

At CLEFT, our vision is of a future where clefts are preventable. Until we get there, we want to improve the lives of those born with cleft lip and palate.
Trusts and Foundations

Today, 1-in-700 babies in the UK are born with a cleft lip and palate, the most common form of birth defect. The impact on a child’s life as they grow is profound. Typically, they will need at least four operations. They may also require ongoing tests, treatment or therapy. It will affect the way they look but also their speech, hearing and dental development. It can leave deep psychological scars.
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