Adolescents with orofacial clefts: understanding their experiences.

Objective: To understand the experience of young people with orofacial clefts regarding life as an adolescent.

Methods: Descriptive, qualitative study, developed in a Brazilian public and tertiary hospital, a reference center in the care of patients with craniofacial anomalies and related syndromes, between February and April 2019. The sample was defined by theoretical saturation. The following inclusion criteria were established: age between ten and 19 years old and having previously operated on orofacial cleft (lip and/or palate). Individuals with fissure associated with syndromes or other malformations were excluded. Data collection was performed through semi-structured interviews, which were audio recorded and transcribed in full. The trigger element was: how has it been for you to experience your adolescence? For the construction of the results, content analysis was used in the thematic modality.

Results: Seventeen adolescents participated. From the speeches, three categories were revealed: interacting socially, feeling supported, and experiencing and facing prejudice.

Conclusions: The biopsychosocial and conflicting complexity that adolescents with orofacial clefts experience was noticed, as well as the importance of receiving support and establishing modalities of situational coping.