Introduction:

Congenital craniofacial malformations have a major impact on the lives of children and their relatives when the face is compromised since they may present along with cognitive deficits or altered facial appearance. There are no conclusive data on the presence of these malformations in the Coffee Region.

Objective:

To identify the frequency of congenital craniofacial malformations during a 4-year period in a private institution of the city of Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.

Materials and methods:

Retrospective cross-sectional study. Data were collected from the medical records of243 883 patients who were attended for the first time at a private health institution of the central-western region of Colombia. Statistical analysis was performed using the R software and Excel version 2007.

Results:

Between January 2010 and December 2014, 1 807 patients with congenital craniofacial malformation were treated, which corresponds to 19.5% of the total of congenital anomalies, being cleft lip and palate the most frequent.

Conclusion:

Although congenital cranial malformations occur frequently, there is little information about its etiology. Early diagnosis can prevent future complications that lead to deterioration of health or to an additional cost to the health system.

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