Catherine de Blacam is a plastic surgeon with special interest in cleft surgery and paediatric plastic surgery. A graduate of UCD, she completed her specialist training in plastic surgery in Ireland, as well as an Aspire fellowship in cleft surgery at the Dublin Cleft Centre.
In addition to her clinical work, Catherine has a keen interest in patient-reported outcomes and clinical research. She was awarded a MD in molecular biology from RCSI and completed a clinical research fellowship at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston.
David Orr
Plastic Surgeon
David Orr is a plastic surgeon with a special interest in cleft surgery and paediatric plastic surgery. He qualified from Trinity College, Dublin in 1986 and, following basic surgical training in Ireland and a research fellowship in surgical oncology in Cardiff, trained in plastic surgery in London, Oxford and Manchester. He spent a year in fellowship training at the Australian Craniofacial Unit and the Royal Adelaide Hospital before returning to Ireland as a consultant in 1998.
Laura Duggan
Cleft Services Manager
Laura qualified as a General Nurse in Waterford and completed her Paediatric Training in Temple Street Hospital (1991). After graduating she continued to work in Temple street as a staff nurse in a medical/surgical ward before progressing to CNM 2 managing a busy surgical ward.
In 2005 she joined the Dublin Cleft Centre team to coordinate cleft services in St. James's Hospital, CHI Crumlin and since 2010 services in Galway. She completed the Nurse Specialist Course in Nottingham in 2008.
Niamh Ward
Speech and Language Therapist (SALT)
The specialist speech and language therapists (SLTs) work with children and adults who have communication and/or feeding difficulties related to cleft lip and palate. They also assess, diagnose and treat patients with nasal sounding speech that is not associated with cleft palate. SLTs work as part of a multidisciplinary team to provide a comprehensive programme of care to each individual.
Lorna Dobbyn Ross
Consultant Orthodontist
Lorna Dobbyn graduated from Trinity College Dublin in 2001 as a Trinity Scholar. She completed her membership and fellowship in Orthodontics from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh.
Her Consultant training was completed at Glasgow Dental School & Hospital. Her masters research project was on validating indices used to measure outcomes in cleft lip and palate. She completed a cleft elective in Chennai, India looking at multi-disciplinary outcomes for cleft patients. Along with the orthodontic team in Galway she completes any orthodontic treatment needed by cleft patients in the West of Ireland.
Dympna Daly
Paediatric Dentist
Dympna Daly completed undergraduate studies at Trinity College Dublin and Dublin Dental University Hospital. She undertook her postgraduate training at the University of Minnesota, receiving a Masters in Paediatric Dentistry. She works in private practice in Galway city, with a particular interest in cleft patients and the prevention of dental disease in children. The majority of Cleft patients in the West of Ireland are referred to her via the local Orthodontic services and she sees them from 1 year of age onwards at regular intervals for intensive prevention.
