A 33-year-old member asked:
what are the treatments for correcting a cleft lip/palate in babies?
3 doctor answers • 5 doctors weighed in
Dr. Kenneth Stein answered
Plastic Surgery 41 years experience
Repair: Typically we like to repair cleft lips when the baby reaches 10 pounds, 10 weeks of age and a hemoglobin of 10 or more.
Cleft palates are normally closed at 8-12 months so that the maxilla can get maximal advancement which prevents extra surgery at a later date, .
5364 viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Dr. John Thaler answered
Prosthodontics 41 years experience
Oral /Plastic/ENT : See the specialist surgeons : oral, plastic and ent. There are many things you can do as you plan for the repair process. Use the team to help you do this. This is what they do. Later , speech therapist may be useful. You are doing the right thing !
5362 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. James Sidman answered
Pediatric ENT and Head and Neck Surgery 40 years experience
Surgery: Only surgery will correct cleft lip or palate. Most surgeons in the u.S will do the lip repair at about 6-10 weeks old, and the palate repair at 10-12 months old. Of course there are variations in this depending on the surgeon, the hospital, and the individual baby's situation.
5260 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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Similar questions
A 46-year-old member asked:
Can you tell me if babies with cleft lip/palate need strapping to upper lip?
2 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in
Dr. Mark Burke answered
Plastic Surgery 19 years experience
Often times.: Taping or other devices are often used in babies with cleft lip (especially bilateral) to slowly bring the defect edges closer together and decrease the size of the gap that needs to be repaired.
4645 viewsReviewed >2 years ago
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Last updated Oct 4, 2016
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