Varying width ratio patterns of posterior hard palate cleft to posterior maxillary tuberosity plane in cleft palate / 华西口腔医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#The varying width ratio patterns of posterior hard palate cleft to posterior maxillary tuberosity plane and their relationship with growth and development were studied in specific-age patients with simple cleft palate before surgery to provide a reference for evaluating operation difficulty and predetermining operative period.@*METHODS@#A total of 581 patients with simple cleft palate who received surgical treatment and are aged 8 months to 38 years participated in this study. All patients were categorized into seven groups based on age at preoperative measurement. The widths of posterior maxillary tuberosity plane and hard palate cleft were selected from the preoperative direct measurements. The relative width ratio of the hard palate to posterior maxillary tuberosity plane in each patient was used to objectively reflect the relative width of cleft palate.@*RESULTS@#For patients with simple cleft palate, the widths of posterior maxillary tuberosity plane and hard palate showed remarkably increasing trends.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The transverse proportion of cleft palate fissure in the upper mandible increases statistically with age, suggesting the need for complex operation.

Factors affecting the postoperative velopharyngeal function among aged patients with cleft palate / 华西口腔医学杂志

OBJECTIVE@#To explore the prognostic factors affecting the primary surgical management of aged patients with cleft palate.@*METHODS@#This study reviewed aged patients with cleft palate who received Furlow palatoplasty (surgical age≥5 years) at the cleft center at West China Hospital of Stomatology from 2009 to 2014. The study retrieved intraoperative mea-surements, including velar length, pharyngeal depth, cleft width, maxillary width, cleft palate index, and palatopharyngeal ratio. Speech evaluation results at follow-up at least a year after surgery were also obtained. Logistic regression and retrospec-tive analyses were performed to identify correlative prognostic factors.@*RESULTS@#One hundred and thirty-one patients were included (70 males and 61 females). Dichotomy logistic regression analysis revealed that pharyngeal depth was the only mea-surement considerably associated with postoperative velopharyngeal function. Pharyngeal depth deeper than 16 mm indicated high risk of postoperative velopharyngeal insufficiency.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Pharyn-geal depth is a significant prognostic factor for the primary surgical management of aged patients with cleft palate. Pharyn-goplasty might be considered when planning the primary management of aged patients.