A cleft lip and palate repair is a surgical procedure to fix birth defects of the upper lip and roof of the mouth.

A cleft lip is an abnormal opening in the middle of the upper lip. A cleft palate is an opening in the roof of the mouth (palate).

Cleft lip repair is usually done when the child is 6 to 12 weeks old. Doctors usually wait to repair a cleft palate until the palate changes with normal growth. Most surgeons repair a cleft palate 9 months to 1 year before the child develops speech problems.

While the baby is under general anesthesia (asleep and feeling no pain), the surgeon trims the tissues around the defect and sews them together with several layers of stitches (absorbable sutures). The stitches are very fine to make the scar as small as possible. In cleft palate repair, tissue from the roof of the mouth may be moved over to cover the soft palate. Sometimes a child will need more than one surgery to completely close the palate.

This type of surgery is done to correct a physical deformity caused by a cleft lip or palate, or when such conditions cause problems with nursing, feeding, or speech.

Risks from the anesthesia are:

• Breathing problems
• Reactions to the medications

• Bleeding
• Infection

Most babies heal without complications. The cosmetic result often depends on the severity of the deformity. The child might need another surgery to fix the scar.

The average hospital stay is 5 to 7 days. Complete recovery can take up to 4 weeks. Some children continue to have speech defects after the surgery because of muscle problems in the palate. They will need to have speech therapy.