Causes of delay in surgical repair of primary cleft lip and palate

Background: Cleft lip and palate are the most common congenital malformations of the head and neck. These disorders have high economic cost for families and impose a heavy psychological burden on children. Performing early primary reconstructive surgery on cleft lip and palate is necessary to achieve the desired treatment results. The aim of this study was to evaluate the etiology of primary cleft lip and palate reconstructive surgery retardation.
Methods: In this descriptive study, 516 infants referred to Tabriz Children’s Hospital and Sina Hospital to do primary cleft lip and palate reconstructive surgery from 2009 to 2014, were studied. Ages at surgery, sex, comorbidities, cause of delay in referring the patients were evaluated. SPSS version 22 was used for statistical analysis.
Results: The mean age of patients at surgery was 16.20 ± 25.97 months. There was a delayed referral for primary reconstructive surgery in 27.13% of the patients. The low weight of the child for surgery (30%), late visit of the child (19.28%), and lack of awareness among parents about the time of the visit (17.85%) were the most common causes of delay of reconstructive surgery.
Conclusion: Based on the findings of this study, the low weight of the child for surgery, late visit of the child, lack of parents’ awareness about the time of the visit, comorbidities, late diagnosis, and low level of socio-economic, were the most common causes of delay in referring to reconstructive surgery respectively.