ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the nutritional status and behavior of the surgical wound following cheiloplasty. SETTING: Hospital for Rehabilitation of Craniofacial Anomalies, University of São Paulo (HRAC/USP), Bauru, São Paulo, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-five nursing children aged 3 to 13 months old, either bottle-fed or spoon-fed, submitted to cheiloplasty during the study period. RESULTS: The results did not demonstrate significant differences between the study groups regarding gender, age, nutritional status, and condition of the surgical wound. Upon completion of the study, the infants of both groups were eutrophic, presenting increase in growth and development, with no hematoma, significant edema, sutural dehiscence, bleeding, or infection at the operated area. CONCLUSIONS: Both kinds of nursing, spoon- and bottle-feeding, had the same influence on nutritional status and wound condition in both study groups. We suggest that bottle-feeding should be tried in patients in the postoperative period of cheiloplasty, because this method was used after surgery without causing any damage to the lip surgical wound.
