First congratulations on the birth of your son. Palate repair
time frames vary from doctor to doctor and also to the type,
width, and severity of the cleft.
If there is a cleft of the lip it is often repaired first
using the code of 10. 10 lbs 10weeks and 10 grams (blood count)
Cleft palates seem to repair 6-9 month range although I am
sure some have been closed before and some have been closed
after. Again it all depends on the circumstances. Some palates
are repaired in one surgery some are repaired in two surgeries.
Basically the first issue will be feeding. Once that has been
figured out you can advance. You should be contacted by a
craniofacial anomolies panel. This panel will see your child and
evaluate his needs. At this panel there will be a hearing
evaluation, pediatrician, ENT, social worker, Plastic surgeon,
etc. etc. They will examine him and give you information as to
time tables. This list is a very good source of information and
there is another site
www.widesmiles.org which also provides a
lot of info. They have an email discussion list too!.
Best of luck