Kids who have had surgery for cleft lip/palate seem to have less visible scars than those done a generation ago.
How exactly have surgery methods improved?
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I think it really depends on the surgeon, still. My husband was born with a unilateral cleft lip and palate in the late 1970s. He had surgery as an infant and it was decent, though he had a somewhat noticeable scar. Then in the mid-1990s he had a revision done that took some cartilage from his septum and was used to fill in his lip so he has a pronounced Cupid’s bow now. His repair really isn’t noticeable now, and medical professionals are usually surprised to learn he had a cleft lip. He doesn’t really have the cleft-lip “buzz” to his voice that can commonly occur with cleft patients. He also doesn’t have the flatness the some have between their lips and nose, nor does his nose kind of “pull down” like a lot of repairs seem to. My pre-teen daughter has a little girl in her grade who has had an obvious cleft lip repair that has the flatness and pull like the older surgeries used to have, so some surgeons are still following the old ways. Hopefully they continue to improve.
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