Traditionally, cleft lip repair has been carried out around 10 to 12 weeks of age. There have been surgeons who have done surgery in the newborn, but there has been no series where cleft lip repair has been carried out in the first 48 hours as a routine procedure over a long period with long term results. The author's unit has performed this operation routinely since the 1970s, and collected data on the speech, hearing, growth and appearance of the children, who are now in their 20s. The main argument against this procedure was the anaesthetic risk in performing surgery so early in life....
Traditionally, cleft lip repair has been carried out around 10 to 12 weeks of age. There have been surgeons who have done surgery in the newborn, but ...
