I'm a cleft surgeon based in Oxford and have spent my career treating children and their families with this challenging condition.

There are many unanswered questions as to how we can best manage clefts in order to achieve the optimal aesthetic and functional outcomes. As orofacial clefting is a relatively rare condition it can be diffcult to secure funding even for robust prospective cohort studies - so that's precisely where CLEFT comes in!

Always keen on an open water swim challenge, what better way to raise money for an excellent cause than an autumnal dip in the Serpentine with colleagues from the Spires Cleft team!

I've dusted off my goggles and squeezed in to my wetsuit and have been making regular appearances at the local lido to get me fighting fit for Saturday 14th September - hopefully I'll have completed the six mile course before my operating list on Monday!

Any support would be hugely appreciated - no matter how small - it will all be put to excellent use by CLEFT! Monty Swan