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?
In: 1809
Plastic surgery (and surgery in general) continues to advance along with medicine in general. Machines like the Da Vinci are precise enough to [suture grape skin](https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/surgery-articles/they-did-surgery-on-a-grape-and-we-did-a-q-and-a-with-a-surgeon-about-it). While that equipment isn’t really used for a cleft lip it’s a good example of how far it’s come.
The price has also come down on a lot of the more normal equipment that allows more precise work, and more hospitals have access to surgeons with the specialty skills needed for best outcomes. It’s a bit like taking your car to the mechanic down the street vs taking it to someone who specializes in only your model of car. Both can get the job done but one will be overall faster and more effective. It’s one of the upsides to the consolidation and centralization of hospitals into mega medical groups.
Beyond that, I think there’s a lot of movement towards early intervention for minor birth defects that are low impact resolutions. Fix it early, a baby’s body can heal scars better than a child or adult’s.
For starters, we started paying more attention to the cosmetic aspect. We also developed better sutures which don’t leave as visible as a mark. The doctors also specialized further and further. Now rather than “a surgeon” we have a specific “maxillofacial surgeon” who has studied and practiced the operation much more to the point of maximizing the scar to blend in.
The tools are better, cleaner cuts will heal cleaner as well. The techniques are better for things like sutures and cutting angles so the scaring is less prevalent. And cosmetic surgery is just ridiculously amazing now.
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Technology gets better every year and the sooner the surgery is done, the less chance of a visible scar will happen as the baby recovers.
ELI5 explanation: The thread they use to do the stitching is finer, the way they stitch has evolved and how they complete the procedure (things like where they get the extra skin from to fix the lip has gotten more refined. Additionally modern antibiotics keep infections to a minimum. All of these things together help decrease scarring and make the surgery less noticeable after healing.
Can you tell if a baby has a cleft lip and/or palate in an ultrasound?
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My daughter has similar experience with magic rod surgery. The scars are there but you have to really look. Apparently her doctor brings in a plastic surgeon to do the closing and stitching.
I’m just creeped out because this popped on my screen just as I was watching an Operation Smile commercial on TV.
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