Retrospective study of postoperative complications in primary lip and palate surgery

This retrospective study addressed the complications of primary lip and palate surgeries, and was carried out at Craniofacial Anomalies Rehabilitation Hospital at University of Sao Paulo. The present study aimed to identify the most frequent complications, as well as verifying the rela-tions between demographic variables and the complications observed. The sample comprised the records of 484 patients submitted to primary lip and palate surgery during the period of November 2000 to April 2001. The results demonstrated predominance of white male individuals with a median age of 12 months. The most frequent type of cleft was complete cleft lip and palate, and cheiloplasty was the most prevalent surgery. Of the 484 patients included in the study, 58.05% presented at least one or more postoperative complications. Pain was the most frequent problem in the evaluated group, followed by oxygen desaturation and tachycardia.