Timing of primary lip repair in cleft patients according to surgical treatment protocol

The goal of this article is to focus on the results of meeting the primary lip repair timing in compliance with the surgical treatment protocol used at the Cleft Center, Bratislava.

Retrospective analysis of 45 initial lip repairs among all cleft operations in a period of 3 years (2006-2008). The object of the analysis was the "day of surgery after birth". The defined time period was that of 90th-180th day (3-6 months) for the initial lip surgery according to surgical protocol. Histories of patients who underwent surgery before the 90th or after the 180th day were examined.

40 patients (89%) underwent primary lip surgery in the defined time period of 3-6 months following the surgical treatment protocol. 5 patients (11%) underwent primary lip surgery at a later age than 6 months only because of pediatric reasons: recurrent bronchopneumonia (3 patients), recurrent respiratory infections plus prematurity (1 patient) and sideropenic anaemia (1 patient). There were no operative and postoperative surgical or anesthesiological complications. There were only serious pediatric reasons for surgery delays.

The determined timing of primary lip closure in 3-6 months is considered adequate according to the achieved results. In most of the cases this timing offers reliable conditions to perform early surgery in baby patients. The successfull realisation of the primary lip repair in the defined time period of 3-6 months is very important for proper timing of subsequent surgeries as well as for that of consecutive completion of treatment (Tab. 1, Fig. 1, Ref. 8).