PROCEDURES
A lip cleft or palate is usually repaired through a simple surgical procedure. The procedure involves anesthesia for a less painful experience for our patients. Surgeons connect the lip or palate muscles and then rearrange the tissues which are in order to close the cleft.
There are two types of clefts: unilateral cleft and bilateral clefts. A unilateral cleft is one where the patient’s lip or palate has an opening on one side. Whereas the bilateral has openings on both sides of the mouth.
This dictates which procedure to be undertaken on the patient. A special procedure is performed on patients with bilateral clefts. Lip adhesion or a molding plate may be used to help bring the lips together before they are fully repaired.
AFTER SURGERY FOLLOW-UPS
As one continues to grow, his or her facial structures tend to change. Follow-ups after surgery are scheduled in order to help our patients adapt to their growing bodies. Supplementary surgeries like pharyngoplasty, help improve speech and provide stability of permanent teeth.
Infant patients require a maximum of 12 procedures is required for a patient to obtain a 96% percentage of positive results. Adults require a maximum of 3 procedures. These procedures usually leave a small scar on the lip.
As patients mature they may want to remove or lighten the scar to make it less visible. The Los Angeles oral surgeons offer these services at a pocket-friendly price.