Evaluation of Trigeminal Nerve Blockade

Cleft palate is a common congenital anomaly for which surgical repair is indicated during early childhood. The surgical repair of cleft palate is very painful, and generally requires high doses of opioids for adequate pain control, placing children at risk for post-operative respiratory depression and airway obstruction. An alternative approach to post-operative analgesia for cleft palate repair is the placement of nerve blocks in the pterygopalatine fossa bilaterally, blocking the maxillary nerve and covering the entire mid-face. This randomized, double-blinded study will investigate the utility of maxillary nerve blockade in controlling post-operative pain, decreasing opioid requirements, improving post-operative oral food and drink intake, and decreasing hospital length-of-stay after cleft palate repair.

Inclusion criteria

• Patient presenting for palatoplasty for cleft palate only.
• Parent/guardian consents to participate
• Normal oral food and water intake before surgery
• No underlying chronic pain condition

Exclusion criteria

• Parent/guardian refuses to consent
• Patient requires revision surgery on the palate
• Patient requires surgery in addition to palatoplasty, including, but not limited to pharyngeal flap or soft palate lengthening procedures.
• Any underlying chronic pain condition
• Presence of any other factor which, at the discretion of any member of the study team, makes the patient a poor candidate for block placement.
• Presence of any other factor which, at the discretion of any member of the study team, makes the patient a poor candidate for research participation.
• History of Pierre Robin sequence
• Planned or anticipated need for any type of artificial airway post-op