Thanks Cindi!!!!

The following is an email that I was sent from my DS Cindi, who is an RN. I found this information very valuable!!! I'm sorry that your having to go through all of this. And I certainly don't believe that this complication has anything to do with anything that you did or did not do. Fistula's are a complication that can occur. I've have read that the numbers as high as 34% of post surgical patients. This can happen for many reasons. Factors that can contribute are the type of cleft that she has, and the the type of repair method that the doctor chose to use. Their are about 5 techniques for repair with a couple of them having more incidents of this happening as a complication than others. Again that goes back to the type of cleft she has. Other factors that can cause this to happen are tension on the wound. Crying is the most common cause of wound tension because it can cause the suture line to stretch before it has the chance to develop enough strength to resist separating. Another is blod clots that form under the closer flaps and apply pressure or tension on the wound. The clots are usually reabsorbed so they usually don't cause further complications. Other reasons this can happen are from infection, poor wound healing, trauma from eating the wrong foods or the child picking. So you see, there are many reasons that this can happen that are completely out of your control. I think they have to wait about 6 months before they can go in and repair them. Have you noticed any problems so far with fluids or eating? I have also read that if there are no complications a dental prosthesis can be used. I hope this helps. Love you. Cindi