The nurse is caring for an infant whose cleft lip was repaired. What important aspects of this infant's postoperative care should be included?
A) Arm restraints, postural drainage, mouth irrigations
B) Cleansing the suture line, supine and side-lying positions, arm restraints
C) Mouth irrigations, prone position, cleansing the suture line
D) Supine and side-lying positions, postural drainage, arm restraints

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The suture line should be cleansed gently after feeding. The child should be positioned on the back, on the side, or in an infant seat. Elbows are restrained to prevent the child from accessing the operative site. Postural drainage is not indicated. This would increase the pressure on the operative site when the child is placed in different positions. There is no reason to perform mouth irrigations, and the child should not be placed in the prone position where injury to the suture site can occur.

The Nurse Is Caring for an Infant Whose Cleft Lip