Cleft Lip Treatment

When and How isthe Cleft Lip Repaired?
The timing of the cleft palate repair is based on obtaining a balancebetween two conflicting tendencies. On one hand, surgical repairof the palate may interfere with the growth of the upper jaw. Consequentlywe would like to delay palate repair as long as possible, allowingas much growth of the upper jaw as possible prior to surgery. Onthe other hand, the opening or cleft in the palate prevents thedevelopment of normal speech and therefore, from the speech pointof view, we would like to close the palate as early as possible.In order to maximize facial growth and at the same time minimizethe impact on speech development, we usually recommend repair ofthe palate between twelve and fourteen months of age. When the childis about ten months old, the team speech pathologist begins to monitorverbal development, and recommends palate repair when the childis beginning to develop specific elements of speech. Cleft palaterepair involves sewing the edges of the cleft together and reconstructingthe muscle in the back of the palate to provide for more effectivespeech. The procedure takes about two to three hours and requiresa one or two night hospital stay.