OBJECTIVE

To provide national estimates of the number and cost of primary and revision cleft lip and palate surgeries in the U.S. and to determine patient and hospital characteristics associated with disproportionate use of revision surgery.

DESIGN

Retrospective cross-sectional study using data obtained from the 2003, 2006, and 2009 Kids' Inpatient Database.

SETTING

Inpatient.

PATIENTS

Children with CL, CP, or CLP undergoing inpatient cleft lip and/or palate surgery.

INTERVENTIONS

Inpatient cleft lip and/or palate surgery.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Orofacial cleft surgery estimates, estimates of primary versus revision surgeries, and estimated inflation-adjusted hospitalization costs.

RESULTS

In 2009, there were a total of 2824 and 5431 hospitalizations for cleft lip and palate surgeries, respectively. Revision surgery accounted for 24.2% of cleft lip surgeries and 36.8% of cleft palate surgeries. Children with CLP (OR 1.87, 95% CI: 1.48-2.38), a syndromic diagnosis (OR 1.47, 95% CI: 1.16-1.87), or private insurance (OR 1.71, 95% CI: 1.41-2.09) were more likely to undergo cleft lip revision surgery. Similar risk factors were found for children undergoing cleft palate revision. Mean cost per hospitalization ranged from $7564 to $8393 in 2009, depending on surgery type, and did not change significantly (in 2009 U.S. $) between 2003 and 2009.

CONCLUSIONS

Interventions to reduce revision surgery by improving results of primary surgery should be targeted in the population of identified high-risk (e.g., syndromic) patients. In addition, the association of health insurance status with revision surgery highlights the need to understand and address the impact of economic disparities on cleft care delivery.