Result study after two stages repair of cleft palate In infancy

ABSTRACT

An early closure of the soft palate was advocated in the management of ten cleft palate patients and it was found that the early closure of the soft palate in this series has the advantage of early function and growth that occurred in the soft palate which is vital in the development of speech, furthermore it avoids the pitfall of maxillofacial growth disturbances related to early periosteal undermining of the palate. Whereas the closure of the cleft in the hard palate is postponed with the intention of minimizing interference with maxillary growth. Also it was found that most of that clefts narrows spontaneously after velar closure as a result of further growth of the palate. The best cases that get benefit from this trend were found to be the cases of wide palatal clefts whether bilateral complete clefts or isolated types and cases associated with cleft alveolus. Early closure of the soft palate in cases of complete cleft palate is beneficial in establishing both the continuity and the function of the muscles of the soft palate. Also the residual cleft in the palate that narrows by time can be closed later on with minimal dissection of the palatal mucoperiosteum. So we conclude that, early closure of the soft palate should be performed alone without repair of the cleft in the hard palate in all cases of bilateral and unilateral complete cleft lip and palate either separately or simultaneously with the lip repair and in cases of isolated cleft palate especially in cases with wide palatal cleft. Also, the soft palate can only be closed in older patients with very wide complete cleft palate in which it can not be closed in one stage