Cleft Lip and Palate Surgery in Wichita

Meet for a consultation with our fellowship-trained plastic surgeon Dr. Nataliya Biskup. Consultations are available before the birth of your child (if your new baby has been diagnosed with a cleft lip/palate in the womb), in the hospital (if your new baby has just been born and found to have a cleft lip/palate), or after you and your child have released from the hospital. We also see older children who’ve undergone repair at other centers and adults who have cleft-related concerns.

Review the treatment, timeline, and goals of cleft lip and palate repair with your surgeon. All of our new families receive a welcome package, filled with pamphlets, hand-outs, baby bottles, cleft valves, and other goodies, to ease this often stressful time in a family’s life. You are encouraged to ask any and all questions that you might have. We welcome and are happy to address any questions before, during, or after your appointment. Our patient care coordinators are there for you and your child.

We will help you schedule other needed appointments and surgery. Children with a cleft palate often need to be evaluated by a Ear-Nose-Throat (ENT) doctor to determine if they need ear tubes. Before surgery, we will walk you and your child through the recovery process and answer any and all questions along the way.

Dr. Biskup and our pediatric anesthesiologists will visit with you on the day of surgery to answer any added questions. Immediately after surgery, Dr. Biskup will come and let you know how your child’s surgery went. As soon as you child is in the recovery room, you will able to hold and snuggle him or her.

After the recuperation period, we will start seeing your child in our multidisciplinary center, where we will monitor your child’s growth, speech, hearing, tooth development, and other critical milestones. At the Kansas Cleft and Craniofacial Center, we are proud to have an ACPA-approved multidisciplinary clinic, where your child can be followed by plastic surgery/craniofacial surgery, otolaryngology, oral surgery, orthodontics, speech therapy, audiology, dental hygiene, and social work, all in one visit! Attending such a clinic regularly is critical to optimizing your child’s outcome.

Optimizing feeding and getting your baby to grow and gain weight is most important. For children with a cleft palate, there are many bottling systems available to assist feeding. We also encourage you to visit with our feeding therapists if any problems arise. On the day of surgery, you will be asked to stop feeding your child prior to the procedure. Bring with you items that smell and feel like home (your baby’s favorite blankies, stuffed animals, onesies) to comfort your child.

After the procedure, you will see your baby as soon as they exit the operating room, and our surgeons will talk to you immediately after the procedure. You are welcomed and encouraged to snuggle, hold, and comfort your child. Babies are able to start feeding (from the same bottle as used before the procedure) as soon as they show signs of hunger. You are asked to feed your child soft foods only (no cheerios or puffs) and keep hard objects (like utensils and hard toys) out of their hands and/or mouth. Stitches will be removed at 1 week after surgery and a nasal stent (if used) at 3 weeks after surgery. Your baby will typically spend one night in the hospital. You will be applying ointment and cleaning the surgical sites 3-4 times per day. Washing the face and surgical site is encouraged.

After the cleft palate repair, you will see your baby as soon as they exit the operating room, and our surgeons will talk to you immediately after the procedure. You are welcomed and encouraged to snuggle, hold, and comfort your child. Babies are able to start feeding (from the same bottle as used before the procedure) as soon as they show signs of hunger. You are asked to feed your child soft foods only (no cheerios or puffs) and keep hard objects (like utensils and hard toys) out of their hands and/or mouth. Stitches are all dissolvable (fade away on their own). Your baby will typically spend one night in the hospital. No elbow guards/straighteners (except 1-2 hours after surgery).