• A cleft lip may be just a small notch in the lip. It may also be a complete split in the lip that goes all the way to the base of the nose.
• A cleft palate can be on one or both sides of the roof of the mouth. It may go the full length of the palate.
• Your child may have one or both of these conditions at birth.

Most times, cleft lip repair is done when the child is 3 to 6 months old.

For cleft lip surgery, your child will have general anesthesia (asleep and not feeling pain). The surgeon will trim the tissues and sew the lip together. The stitches will be very small so that the scar is as small as possible. Most of the stitches will be absorbed into the tissue as the scar heals, so they will not have to be removed later.