Cleft Palate Surgery: Day 1

So, this blog post is mostly just for education for people who may be considering adopting a cleft lip/palate kiddo...it may be kind of gross for people. So, if you have no interest in the ins and outs of palate surgery or are easily grossed out...skip this post! Also, I'm not going to post pictures of Laura from today (surgery day.) Today wasn't the day for pictures. It was a hard day.

*********************************************************************************

Today was Laura's surgery day for her open palate. Her cleft lip was repaired in China. On a side note, China has become very good at repairing cleft lips. Our surgeon commented several times on her lip and how great it looks. He said they couldn't have done it better here. He also mentioned that the cleft lip surgery is one the Chinese have really educated themselves on and they do a good job on the lips now.

For Laura, she was missing about half of her palate. Her entire left side was missing. She had a small strip of palate on the right side (which she used for sucking and eating). When we visited with the surgeon after we got home from China, he said he would do his best to completely close her open palate. However, sometimes they are unable to do so and therefore there will be a small hole (or holes) left after surgery. These fistulas will then have to be repaired a year or two later. The fistulas can still get food stuck in them and also may cause speech problems as children learn to talk. We were prayerful that our doctor would be able to fix her palate without leaving any holes. We were so thankful today when he said he was able to do a complete repair! Now, as long as her mouth heals properly, she should have a closed palate. Hooray! 

When I look in her mouth, I can see where he made two incisions along the sides of her palate (from her gums to about quarter of the way across.) There are now fairly large gaps on the outside of her palate that will heal on their own, from the inside out. He then pulled that soft tissue together and there is stitching from her teeth  (gums) to her throat. The tissue is swollen, so it kind of looks like a swollen cushion with stitching though the middle. 

She has been really uncomfortable all day. It has been a very long, hard day. Lots of trial and error, trying to get her comfortable. She is getting fluids from an iv, but we have gotten her off the morphine and on oral pain medication that seems to be doing the trick.

We are in a hospital that does not see a lot of cleft babies and that has been painfully obvious in her post-surgical care. The nurses don't know what to do and I am having to educate them on cleft and be adamant about following my doctor's orders on how to care for my daughter. Some hospitals probably see more cleft babies than others. But, be prepared to be an advocate for your child! Educate yourself by asking lots of questions of your surgeon before the procedure and after the procedure when he visits with you. I was so very thankful for a surgeon who didn't just do the procedure and then take off. He called me, and visited us several times and gave directions many times to the nurses so we could give Laura proper care. 

The stitches will dissolve in about 14 days...counting down to her being healed!