title: [Neonatal cleft lip repair: perioperative safety and surgical outcomes].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is no international consensus on timing for surgical repair of cleft lip and palate. We argue that neonatal timing for repair of the lip deformity allows a better integration of the baby in his family and is of major support for the parents. Recent studies tend to challenge this neonatal practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  We want to study retrospectively the perioperative safety and the surgical outcomes of this procedure over the past 20 years in a series of 42 non-selected babies who had labial repair during the first four weeks of their life. All of them have been operated by the same senior surgeon.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Median operative time is 45 minutes for unilateral cleft and 70 minutes in case of bilateral malformation. Oral feeding is initiated at the end of the operative day. Children's hospital stay is four days. The results show no anaesthetic complication. Four children had secondary lip correction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The risk of anaesthetic and surgical interventions limited to the lip before the age of 28 days is very low in a medical care environment specialized in neonatal surgery and postoperative care. The over all complication rate is very low.
authors.affiliation: Service de chirurgie plastique reconstructrice et esthétique, centre hospitalier de Luxembourg, 4, rue E. Barblé, L-1210 Luxembourg, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg. Electronic address: calteux.nicolas@chl.lu.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Calteux
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hellers
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumpan
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schmitz
mesh_terms: D000762:Anesthesia Recovery Period; D000768:Anesthesia, General; D002971:Cleft Lip / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D061646:Operative Time; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Anesthésie néonatale; Chirurgie néonatale; Cleft lip and palate; Facial cleft; Fente faciale; Fente labio-palatine; Lip malformation; Malformation lèvre; Neonatal anesthesia; Neonatal surgery