The effect of antenatal surgery on postnatal palatal growth in sheep.

It has been suggested that repair of skin and mucosal wounds carried out in animals in utero leaves little or no trace of the operative procedure when examined at birth. This study examined the palates of lambs affected surgically in utero postnatally for scarring and transverse palatal growth. Nineteen pregnant sheep were affected at 120 days gestation. Surviving lambs followed for 6 months demonstrated altered palatal morphology.