How long to recover from cleft palate surgery

Try to stop your child putting fingers or toys into their mouth as this could damage it. This helps cleanse the palate and stops food collecting in the operation site, which could lead to infection or wound breakdown.

You can give pain relief medicines, such as paracetamol syrup or ibuprofen syrup, at home following the dosage instructions on the bottle. We advise that you give regular pain relief medicine for at least two weeks after the operation, making sure that you give your child a dose about 30 minutes before feeding. Sometimes when the stitches fall away, a small hole might be left in the palate, which may close without more surgery.

This will be checked when your child comes for a follow up appointment. After your baby has had a cleft palate operation, he or she may need to come back to GOSH for a wound check five days after the operation.

This appointment should be made before you leave hospital. Your child will need to come back three to four months later for an outpatient appointment. This appointment will be sent to you in the post. Please note this is a generic GOSH information sheet.

If you have specific questions about how this relates to your child, please ask your doctor. Please note this information may not necessarily reflect treatment at other hospitals. Cleft palate repair Cleft palate repair is an operation to repair defects of the hard and soft palate.

Children usually stay in hospital for two nights, but can sometimes go home after one night. Another doctor an anaesthetist may visit you to explain about the general anaesthetic. Infection after cleft palate repair is rare, but signs of infection include: Swelling or redness of the palate Irritability Raised temperature Loss of appetite If your child develops any of these signs, please call the ward or your family doctor GP , as a repeat course of antibiotics may be needed.

Mecial conditions Cleft lip and palate. Compiled by:. It is important for your child to take medicines as directed by the doctor. Your child will go home with an antibiotic. The antibiotic needs to be taken until all of it is gone. Some pain is normal after palate repair. Your surgeon and medical team will work together to achieve the best pain control possible, but your child may still experience discomfort. For pain, your child may be prescribed a medicine called either Oxycodone or Lortab.

After a few days, your child will only need over-the-counter pain medicine. After hours, on weekends or holidays, call Ask to speak with the plastic surgeon on call. Pureed or fork-mashed lentils or beans without skins Cottage cheese Soft cheeses American cheese square, feta. Hard or crunchy cereals "Cold" cereals Cheerios, Old- fashioned or instant oatmeal. Fork-mashed, pureed, canned or well-cooked fruit Fork-mashed fresh bananas Smooth applesauce.

Hard or crunchy vegetables Vegetables with seeds, pulp or skins tomatoes, green beans, peas, corn, etc. Hard or crunchy toppings on potatoes or noodles Sauces with chunks Rice.

Talk to the ward staff if you have any concerns about pain relief, both at the hospital and afterwards at home. The ward provides pain relief on discharge but it is always a good idea to have some Paracetamol and Ibuprofen already at home. Always follow the advice given to you by your Cleft Team, and go straight to them if you have any concerns or questions. They all needed to be taken at different times and in varying quantities.

You are very tired during the recovery period, so it helps to note down the medication times in case you forget when you administered one of them or perhaps it was just my poor memory! The antibiotics gave Rafe diarrhoea, which caused him to have nappy rash. We were given a tube of Metanium at the hospital which was very handy in helping to clear up the nappy rash.

A friend also recommended that we give Rafe baby probiotics during and after his antibiotic course to replenish the supply of good bacteria in his intestines which is wiped out by antibiotics. A visible scar will be left after cleft lip repair surgery and it may appear red, swollen and bruised after surgery, but this will fade considerably as it heals and your child gets older.

Swelling may take a few weeks to settle, and the scar may get thick, lumpy, and even start to pull the lip back up as it shrinks in the first few months. It is important to keep the scar clean and free from scabs, as this helps with the removal of stitches. Infections are rare, but look out for warning signs including a raised temperature and loss of appetite.

For information specific to your child, request a consultation online or call us at Many parents are very concerned about the presence of scars. Unfortunately, all cleft lip repairs leave visible scars. Every effort is made to keep scars to a minimum and to place scars so that they are easily concealed. The goal after surgery is to protect the new repair and stitches. Remember, these are only temporary! A syringe with a short piece of soft rubber tubing will be used for feeding.