Evaluating the Rule of 10s in Cleft Lip Repair

What is it about?

Before performing a cleft lip repair, the classic "Rule of tens" is often cited: one should wait until a baby's weight is 10 pounds, 10 grams of hemoglobin/white blood cell count less than 10, and 10 weeks of age. However, this rule was developed in the 1960s and medical care has changed significantly since that time. We used a nationwide database of 1313 cleft lip repairs to determine if this rule was still applicable based on complication rates. In short, we determined that the only predictor of complications was baby weight less than 10 pounds.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

This is important because it suggests that the classic "Rule of Tens" in cleft lip repair does not need to be followed completely. The only factor that seems to predict complications is low weight.