What is the surgery for cleft lip and when does it happen?
Some children benefit from molding devices, which can be used to lessen or decrease the size of the cleft lip or palate. Other children benefit from a procedure called a cleft lip adhesion, which is performed at two to three months of age. This is an interim lip repair that brings the lip gently together to help decrease the size of the cleft. Two or three months later, we perform the final lip repair. We do these surgeries in two stages to minimize scarring and help reduce the risk of the lip breaking open.
