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Sherard A. Tatum III, MD

Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon

750 E Adams Street, CWB RM 241, Department of Otolaryngology, Syracuse, New York(315) 464-4636Website

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1 Questions Answered

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QUESTIONS ANSWERED

I want to have my cleft palate surgery. I'm 26yrs old. Is this possible at my age? What are the complications?

Asked By:AnonymousANSWERS (1)

You certainly can have cleft palate surgery at your age if there are no other mitigating conditions. It is difficult to be specific without knowing how much of your palate is involved. The surgery could be 2-4 hours long. There are risks of anesthesia problems, bleeding, airway obstruction, infection, tooth injury, and failure to close the cleft completely among others.
An important issue is what are your goals. If the surgery goes well, you can expect to have reduced food, drink and speech sounds through your nose. However, your speech patterns might have formed in an incorrect way due to your cleft. This will not be corrected by repairing your palate. You might be able to use your newly repaired palate in speech therapy for further improvement and other surgery might help as well. Additionally, repairing your palate will not change any poor fitting of your teeth. That would require braces and possibly more surgery. Finally, your nasal airway might be involved with the palate surgery and should be evaluated as part of the presurgical plan.

Sherard A. Tatum III, MD

Board Certified Facial Plastic Surgeon