Patients with cleft lip and palate generally require a series of treatments from birth to adulthood and need to undergo targeted surgery and treatment at the right time.
1. The general timing of surgery is 3-6 months for patients with unilateral cleft lip and 6-12 months for bilateral, but it is still necessary to specifically choose the best timing for surgery according to the patient’s respective physique. In some patients with severe cleft lip, orthodontic orthoses are needed at birth to reduce the width of the cleft to facilitate surgery.
2, Cleft palate surgery is usually performed at the age of 1-2 years, but some patients with small jaws need to postpone the surgery.
3. Blowing exercises (harmonica, balloon, horn, blister, etc.) need to be started 1 month after cleft palate surgery as a way to exercise the motor function of the palate muscles to facilitate articulation. If there are articulation problems after cleft palate surgery, surgery or speech therapy is needed after 4 weeks of age.