Question

A nurse is providing discharge teaching to the parents of a 3 month old infant following a cheiloplasty. Which of the following instructions shoule the nurse include?

1. Clean your baby's sutures daily with a mixture of chlorhexidine and water.
2. Expect your baby to swallow more than usual over the next few days.
3. Inspect your baby's tongue for white patches using a tongue depressor every 8 hours.
4. Apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment on your baby's suture line daily for the next 3 days.

Answer 1

For post-cheiloplasty care, the nurse should instruct the parents to apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment to the baby's suture line daily for the next 3 days.

Step-by-step explanation:

The nurse should include the instruction to apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment on the baby's suture line daily for the next 3 days, as part of post-cheiloplasty care for a 3-month-old infant. It is a standard procedure to prevent infection and promote healing after such surgeries. Cleaning the sutures with a chlorhexidine mixture is not typically recommended for infants due to potential skin irritation, and frequent inspection of the baby's tongue for white patches isn't specific to cheiloplasty care. It's also normal for a baby to swallow more after surgery due to the presence of saliva and secretions, but it's not something that specifically needs to be expected or monitored as part of discharge instructions.