When I was a nurse @ Riley Hospital for Children (Indianapolis),
following their lip repairs, the plastic surgery serivce also banned active
sucking.  No breast feeding, bottle feeding, or pacifyers for about 2
weeks.  We had to teach the parents to  feed the infants with a Fleets
enema bottle (gasp!).  Needless to say, those babies were grouchy, so
were the parents.  We were always told this was for good wound
healing - to avoid scar formation.  They did it this way for years, and as
far as I know, they still do it that way.  A nurse friend of mine, who had a
son born with cleft lip and palate opted to feed him with an NG tube at
home post-op, and let him finger suck.  He's now 10 years old - good
repair.

Sheryl, RNC