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.