Cleft lip Surgery Recovery
As a parent you only want the best for your child. If you child was born with a cleft lip, we at Associated Plastic Surgeons & Consultants can help correct this problem so that your child lives a healthy life. By undergoing this type of surgery at a young age, your child will be able to eat, drink, and speak like normal with minimal help. As one of the most important parts of the surgical process, it’s important that you as the parent know exactly what you can expect from recovery. Read on to learn more.
No Sucking
The hardest part about recovering from cleft lip surgery is that your child won’t be able to suck anything for about 10 days following their surgery— this includes breast feeding, a bottle nipple, a pacifier, and their thumb. To help keep your child hydrated and comfortable they will receive IV fluids and you can also use an eyedropper filled with water to help keep their mouth moisturized.
Only Side Sleeping
When babies sleep they tend to lay either flat on their backs or flat on their stomachs. However, when they are recovering from cleft lip surgery should be positioned on their side so that they don’t scratch their stitches while they are sleeping. Additionally, we encourage parents to put little mittens on their babies while they sleep so that they aren’t able to scratch or pick at their stitches during the middle of the night.
Careful Play Time
As a part of how babies learn, they like to put just about everything in their mouths to help them differentiate between an object and food. However, while they are recovering from cleft lip surgery, they shouldn’t be placing any toys in or near their mouths because it could cause damage to their incision site.
The most important part about your child’s recovery from cleft lip surgery is that they are comfortable and that their stitches have time to heal. As a parent, this recovery period can feel like a full-time job. Luckily with the help and support of our staff at Associated Plastic Surgeons & Consultants, you won’t feel alone. To learn more about recovery from this procedure or to schedule a consultation for your child, contact Associated Plastic Surgeons & Consultants today!
- Published in Cleft Lip Surgery
Treat Your Child’s Cleft Lip or Palate
As a parent all you can ask for is that your child is both healthy and happy. If your child was born with a cleft lip or palate, you might think the worst and let your anxiety get the best of you. And although a cleft lip or palate is far from ideal, there are surgical procedures that we do here at Associated Plastic Surgeons & Consultants that can help to restore your both your child’s appearance and functionality. Read on to learn more about these procedures.
Cleft Lip Surgery
Our office recommends that cleft lip surgery be done when an infant is approximately 3 months old. During the surgical procedure an entire team will be involved including pediatricians, speech pathologists, orthodontists, oral surgeons, and more in order to ensure that your child gets the best results possible. Although a scar will be visible directly following the surgery, the scar will eventually fade and not be visible.
Cleft Palate Surgery
As a more serious condition, a cleft palate requires immediate surgery which involves a few weeks of recovery and will require medication and medical treatment. During the surgery, the opening in the roof of the mouth will be closed up by rebuilding the palate and joining the muscle together. After surgery, your infant should slowly be able to learn to eat properly. Additionally, during recovery and as your child ages, it will be recommended that they see a speech pathologist in order to help them enunciate and speak properly as their palate continues to heal and form properly.
Both cleft lip and cleft palates are birth defects that are very serious but that are also very treatable. Here at Associated Plastic Surgeons & Consultants we know just how important the health of your child is and treat all of our patients with the utmost precision and care. If you are pregnant and have learned that your baby will be born with a cleft lip or palate contact our office and schedule an appointment with us today!
- Published in Cleft Lip Surgery
Cleft Lip Surgery for Infants
1 in every 4,000 babies each year is born with a cleft lip. Resulting in a gap between the mouth, nose and lip, cleft lip is a birth defect that causes the separation of the facial elements around the nose and palate. If you have just found out either via ultrasound that your child has a cleft lip or have recently given birth to a baby who has a cleft lip, don’t worry a second longer. Through a surgical procedure, your child will be able to live a normal and healthy life. Read on to learn more about cleft lip surgery for infants.
What is a cleft lip?
In order to fully understand the cleft lip surgery process, it’s important to know exactly what a cleft lip is and what it does. A cleft lip is an opening between the nose and mouth that hasn’t formed correctly. During the first three months of pregnancy, a baby’s lip and palate are supposed to form but sometimes do not— resulting in a cleft lip.
What are the problems associated with a cleft lip?
If left untreated, cleft lips can cause dental problems and the inabili
ty to eat properly. However, until your baby has surgery to properly fix their cleft lip, there are special bottles that are designed in order to ensure that your baby is getting the right amount of food and nutrients they need in order to properly grow.
What is surgery like?
Depending on the overall health of your baby, cleft lip surgery can typically take place when the baby is around three months old. During the surgery, and after anesthesia has been administered to your little one, one of Associated Plastic Surgeons & Consultants surgeons will work to seal the gap that has formed between the mouth and nose in order to give your child the ability to eat, chew, and smile.
What is recovery like?
You can expect that your baby will spend the night in the hospital in order to be properly monitored after surgery. However, once discharged, you will be given specific feeding instructions for your baby and will be instructed to keep the area clean. Although a scar will be visible at first, it will slowly fade over time and shouldn’t be apparent in the future.
If your child has a cleft lip and you would like to learn more about the surgical options used to treat it, contact Associated Plastic Surgeons & Consultants today!
- Published in Cleft Lip Surgery