Objective To investigate strategies used by cleft surgeons to manage post-palatoplasty haemorrhage.

Design Online cross-sectional survey

Setting Great Britain and Ireland

Participants 23 of 36 Cleft Surgeons (64% response rate)

Results 16% of respondents indicated having a protocol for managing post-operative bleeds. There was an emphasis on the importance of preventative strategies to reduce the risk of post-operative bleeds occurring. Amongst the variety of non-surgical management options, systemic tranexamic acid and direct pressure were considered the most important. The tendency to prescribe antibiotics for secondary bleeds indicates a perceived difference in the nature or risk associated with these compared to primary bleeds. There was agreement that once identified, the management of post-operative bleeds should be proactive with a low threshold to return to theatre in the presence of an active intra-oral bleed.

Conclusions We suggest a template with considerations that can be adapted into a local haemorrhage protocol for individual cleft units.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study did not receive any funding

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes

All data produced in the present study are available upon reasonable request to the authors