Cleft Surgeries

Cleft lip and cleft palate are among the most common congenital birth anomalies worldwide, occurring when the lip or the roof of the mouth does not fully fuse during foetal development. At Olive Skin & Aesthetics, we perform comprehensive cleft surgery using internationally standardised repair techniques that restore facial symmetry, normal feeding, speech, and appearance.

Surgery is carefully timed to align with the child’s developmental milestones — cleft lip repair is typically performed at 3 months of age, and palate repair between 9–12 months. Secondary refinement surgeries for scar revision, nose correction, or alveolar bone grafting are planned as the child grows.

Our multidisciplinary approach involves coordination with paediatric anaesthesiologists, speech therapists, and orthodontists to support the child’s full functional and aesthetic recovery from infancy through adolescence.

• Infants and children born with unilateral or bilateral cleft lip, cleft palate, or combined cleft lip and palate
• Children with incomplete clefts (microform cleft lip) who show functional or aesthetic concerns
• Older children or adolescents requiring secondary cleft repairs — scar revision, rhinoplasty, alveolar bone grafting
• Patients in good overall health with no contraindications to general anaesthesia
• Families who have received pre-operative counselling and have realistic expectations about multi-stage repair

Cleft lip repair is performed under general anaesthesia, typically at 3 months of age once the infant has reached safe weight and anaesthetic thresholds. We use standard surgical procedures like the Tennison-Randall repair and Millard rotation-advancement flap repair, selecting the technique best suited to individual patient needs, creating natural cupid’s bow contours and minimising visible scarring along the philtrum.

Cleft palate repair is performed at 9–12 months using the Furlow double-opposing Z-plasty or intravelar veloplasty to restore the muscular sling of the soft palate — essential for normal speech development. Hard palate closure is achieved with local mucoperiosteal flaps.

Secondary procedures — including cleft rhinoplasty, lip scar revision, and alveolar bone grafting (typically at 8–10 years, prior to permanent canine eruption) — are planned as part of a long-term treatment pathway that continues into adolescence.

• Days 1–5 (hospital): Specialised feeding with wide-based spoon or squeeze bottle. Arm restraints used briefly to prevent wound contact. Adequate analgesia maintained.
• Week 1–2: Oral feeding gradually resumes. Incision sites inspected. Sutures dissolve over 1–2 weeks.
• Month 1–3: Scar matures progressively. Speech therapy introduced after palate repair.
• Month 3–6: Visible scar softens. Functional eating and early speech development monitored.
• Ongoing: Regular review by plastic surgery, orthodontics, and speech therapy. Secondary refinements planned as child grows.