Abstract
Cleft lip and palate (CLP) is the most common congenital birth defect of the head and neck. Infants with CLP experience difficulties with feeding, leading to low weight gain and failure to thrive.1 At our institution, a paradigm shift has occurred where children with unilateral cleft lip defects are repaired in the late neonatal to early infantile period.2 Before the introduction of early cleft lip repair (ECLR), wide complete cleft lip defects were treated with adjuvant nasoalveolar molding (NAM) and repaired at the age of 3-6 months. The advantage of ECLR lies in the avoidance of the cumbersome and irritating NAM process that requires frequent biweekly dental clinic visits and parental adherence to an appliance protocol. Because little is known about the effects of ECLR on infantile feeding and weight gain, the purpose of this study is to compare the effect of ECLR on weight gain in contrast to NAM and standard timing of cleft repair.
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