After 10 and a half months our baby was finally ready for his operation. On the 9th of February 2012 our baby received his new palate.
This was the toughest day of my life! We booked in at Panorama MediClinic at 6am with a happy, cheerful baby. The operation started at 7:30 and just before 10 the nurse handed me my baby, half awake, in pain, with little bits of blood coming through his nose and out of his mouth. My heart broke.
What happens during cleft lip and palate surgery? (www.plasticsurgery.org)
Step1: Anesthesia
Medications are administered for your child’s comfort during the surgical procedures. This include intravenous sedation and general anesthesia.
Step2: The incision
The goal of cleft lip surgery is to close the separation in the lip and to provide a môre normal function, structure and appearance to the upper lip. Incisions are made on either side of the cleft to create flaps of tissue that are then drawn together and stitched to close the cleft.
The repair of a cleft palate requires careful repositioning of tissue and muscles to close the cleft and rebuild the roof of the mouth. Incisions are made on either side of the cleft and specialized flap techniques are used to reposition muscles and the hard and soft components of the palate. The repair is the stitched closed, generally at the midline of the roof of the mouth, providing enough length of the palate to allow for normal feeding and speech development, and continued growth throughout life.
Step 3: Closing the incisions
Cleft lip and palate incisions can be closed with removable or absorbable sutures.
