Depending on the patient, repairs may start as early as 10 months or as late as 24 months. Plastic Surgery Planning for primary surgical repair begins in the hospital shortly after the child is born, or soon after discharge. Dental, orthodontic or prosthodontic consultation is sought when teeth are malformed or missing. Bilateral clefts are the most complex to repair, requiring a spectrum of medical and surgical specialists. Speech-language pathologists may assist in identifying the specific defect to be repaired.
Some patients require months or years of speech-language training to acquire normal speech.
The family members of a cleft palate patient may need long-term guidance and counseling to support them through the years of treatment. Hemangioams and Other Benign Vascular Lesions of the Skin Hemangiomas and lymphangiomas, the most common benign tumors of the skin in neonates, may be present at birth or appear in the first months after birth. Consultations with a plastic surgeon may include consults with other specialists such as a hematologist when a lesion is very large or life-threatening. Laser treatment is often a treatment of choice for vascular lesions, including port-wine stain and unregressed strawberry hemangioma. Careful evaluation is required before laser treatment is undertaken.