Opioid Prescribing Practices in Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Reconstruction

Introduction: Currently, there is no consensus regarding the role of opioids in the management of perioperative pain in children undergoing cleft lip/palate repair. Method: The present study evaluated opioid prescribing patterns of surgeon members within the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association surgeons utilizing an anonymous survey. Results: Respondents performing cleft lip repair typically operate on patients 3 to 6 months of age (86%), admit patients postoperatively (82%), and discharge them on the first postoperative day (72%). Comparatively, respondents performed palatoplasty between the ages of 10 and 12 months (62%), almost always admit the patients (99%), and typically discharge on the first postoperative day (78%). Narcotics were more frequently prescribed after palatoplasty than after cleft lip repair, both for inpatients (66%; 49%) and at discharge (38%; 22%). Oxycodone was the most prescribed narcotic (39.1%; 41.4%), typically for a duration of 1 to 3 days (81.5%; 81.2%). All surgeons who reported changing their narcotic regimen (34.4% dose, 32.8% duration) after cleft lip repair, decreased both parameters from earlier to later in their career. Similarly, surgeons who changed the dose (32.2%) and duration (42.5%) of narcotics after palatoplasty, mostly decreased both parameters (96%). Additionally, physicians with >15 years of practice were less likely to prescribe opioids in comparison with colleagues with ≤15 years of experience. Ninety-two percent of respondents endorsed prescribing nonopioid analgesics after prescribing cleft surgery, most commonly acetaminophen (85.7%; 85.4%). Conclusion: Cleft surgeons typically prescribe opioids to inpatients and rarely upon discharge. Changes to opioid-prescribing patterns typically involved a decreased dose and duration.