Five-Fold Variation Among Surgeons and Hospitals in the Use of Secondary Palate Surgery

Abstract

Objective: To identify child-, surgeon- and hospital-specific factors at the time of primary cleft palate repair that are associated with the use of secondary palate surgery. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Forty-nine pediatric hospitals. Participants: Children who underwent cleft palate repair between 1998 and 2015. Main Outcome Measure: Time from primary cleft palate repair to secondary palate surgery. Results: By 5 years after the primary palate repair, 27.5% of children had undergone secondary palate surgery. In multivariable analysis, cleft type and age at primary palate repair were both associated with secondary surgery (P