How Many Surgeries Will My Child’s Cleft Lip Require?
Knowing that your child needs surgery is always concerning. As cleft lip sometimes requires multiple surgeries, it's only natural that you want to know how many surgeries your baby will need to undergo. First you need to understand come basics of the condition and the medical solutions.
A cleft lip is a congenital birth defect caused by the failure of fusion of the maxillary and medial nasal processes. There are different types of cleft lip cases, each involving a different level of severity. A cleft lip involves skin tissue and affects the top of the upper lip. It may appear as a small gap or an indentation in the lip.
More severe cases of cleft lip involve the cleft continuing on into the nose. A partial or incomplete cleft lip refers to the indentation, whereas a complete cleft lip has a gap that leads into the nose. A unilateral cleft lip is in reference to a cleft lip that is on one side only and a bilateral cleft lip refers to a cleft lip on both sides of the lip.
Purposes of Cleft Lip Surgeries
The first surgery will be to close the cleft lip. Unlike cleft palate surgery, cleft lip surgery is usually performed within the first three months of the infant's life, on average at 10 weeks of age.
There are differences in surgery when dealing with the various types and sizes of cleft lips.
Usually surgery intended to repair an isolated and unilateral cleft lip will require only one surgery. However, if the unilateral cleft lip is very wide, then two surgeries will likely be required. The first cleft lip surgery will be done early, in about six weeks, while the second one will be planned past the ten week mark, or as far as three months ahead. There will also be two surgeries required for the bilateral cleft lip, which affects both sides of the lip. The first surgery will repair one side and the next surgery, planned for the weeks ahead, will repair the other side.
A baby with a cleft lip and a defect of the nose will usually have two surgeries, though some doctors may prefer to correct the nasal defect during the same surgery in order to avoid disrupting future speech development. Other doctors will prefer to wait much longer before operating on the nose, perhaps as long as five to six years, believing that early nasal surgery can lead to uneven facial growth. Additionally, a child with cleft lip and cleft palate will need two surgeries, one for each closure.
There are situations that will involve more than two surgeries. Uneven lip lines and scarring might require cosmetic surgeries which are often postponed until the teenage years. Your child's case is unique, and the surgeons at the International Craniofacial Institute will guide and educate you on the best surgical options for his or her specific needs.