Primary surgery for cleft palate and short hospital stay (48 h): Are they compatible?

The aim of this study was to evaluate our practices by studying the duration of hospitalization and the parental real-life experience after a primary surgery of a cleft palate. Materials and methods. - Monocentric retrospective study by analysis of the patients files and phone interview of the parents whose children were operated for a primary surgery of a cleft palate isolated, or associated with a labial cleft, or included in a syndromic form. Results. - Forty-nine patients (25 B-24 G) were performed by 44 Wardill and five Furlow procedures (average age: 11 months 1/2) between 2010 and 2012. The average duration of the postoperative stay was 1.5 days. Thirty-three parents were contacted (67%). The return was "very well'' or "well done'' in 82% of the cases. The pain at home was estimated by the parents as "worthless'' or "little intense'' in 73% of the cases. For 16% of the parents, the child seemed "uncomfortable''. The prescription of analgesic was followed only in 70% of the cases. The duration of hospitalization was considered by the families as "good one'' in 70% of the cases, "too long'' for 12% and "too short'' for 18% in particular because of difficulty in eating or parental anxiety. Conclusion. - Even if palatine surgery is considered to be painful, anaesthetic techniques and current analgesic protocols allow to envisage very simple and fast consequences, authorizing an early return of the children at home. (C) 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.