Mucoperiosteal Flap Necrosis after Primary Palatoplasty in Patients with Cleft Palate.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of flap necrosis after palatoplasty in patients with cleft palate. The prevalence of mucoperiosteal flap necrosis after palatoplasty remains unknown, and this complication is rare. This event is highly undesirable for both the patient and the surgeon. We present here a new scale to evaluate the degree of hypoplasia of the palate and identify patients with cleft palate at high risk for the development of this complication. METHODS: In this case series, a 20-year retrospective analysis (1994-2014) identified patients from our records (medical records and screening day registries) with nonsyndromic cleft palate who underwent operations at 3 centers. All of these patients underwent operations using 2-flap palatoplasty and also underwent a physical examination with photographs and documentation of the presence of palatal flap necrosis after primary palatoplasty. RESULTS: Palatal flap necrosis was observed in 4 cases out of 1,174 palatoplasties performed at these centers. The observed prevalence of palatal flap necrosis in these groups was 0.34%. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of flap necrosis can be reduced by careful preoperative planning, and prevention is possible. The scale proposed here may help to prevent this complication; however, further studies are necessary to validate its utility.

Effect of Relaxing Incisions on the Maxillary Growth after Primary Unilateral Cleft Palate Repair in Mild and Moderate Cases: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between the use of relaxing incisions and maxillary growth disturbance after primary palatoplasty in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate. METHODS: This is a prospective, randomized, double-blind controlled trial study with ethical committee approval between 2 groups of patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate who were operated on using the two-flap and one-flap techniques from 2008 to 2011. Two groups of patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate were operated on using the mentioned techniques by the Outreach Surgical Center Program Lima since 2008. Data collection was accomplished by evaluation of maxillary arch dimensions and dental arch relationships (scored using the 5-year-olds' index). RESULTS: The mean score for the 5-year-olds' index was 2.57 for two-flap technique and 2.80 for one-flap technique without statistical significant differences (P = 0.71). Our comparative study did not find statistically significant differences in maxillary arch dimensions between the studied techniques for unilateral cleft palate repair. Good levels of agreement were observed according to the κ statistics. CONCLUSIONS: The results arising from this clinical trial do not provide statistical evidence that one technique let us obtain better maxillary development than the other at 5 years. The use of relaxing incisions was not associated with maxillary growth impairment. A technique with limited relaxing incisions does not has better maxillary growth. Additional longer term study is necessary to confirm this preliminary report.

A Comparative Study to Evaluate the Functional Effect of Unilateral Uvuloplasty after Primary Palatoplasty.

BACKGROUND: The conventional method for uvular repair suturing the 2 hemi-uvulas of the palatal cleft together in the midline does not allow us to obtain a proper anatomical repair. In our hands, the midline straight closure frequently causes retraction of the uvular tissues with the consequent abnormal appearance of the uvula. We described before a method for uvular repair in patients with cleft palate. The technique consists in preserving one of the hemi-uvulas, which is moved to the midline to form the definitive uvula. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the functional effects of the unilateral uvuloplasty for uvular repair in a group of patients with bilateral cleft palate. METHODS: This is a retrospective, single-blinded cohort study between 2 groups of 90 patients with bilateral cleft palate who were operated on using the conventional and unilateral uvuloplasty methods of uvular repair from 2000 to 2009. Data collection was accomplished by physical examination to evaluate the presence of postoperative fistulas and hypernasal speech determined at 6 months to 5 years after surgery. In addition, postoperative dimensions of the velopharynx were measured by a single-blind examiner using a computed tomography scan. RESULTS: Our comparative study found statistically significant differences between the 2 groups in favor of the unilateral uvuloplasty group. CONCLUSIONS: We observed that the use of unilateral uvuloplasty for uvular reconstruction reduces the velopharyngeal space and the frequency of hypernasality in patients with bilateral cleft palate.

Comparison of two models of surgical care for patients with cleft lip and palate in resource-challenged settings.

BACKGROUND: The Peruvian health system is limited in providing specialized care for patients with clefts because there are an insufficient number of hospitals and few specially trained doctors in rural areas of the country. The most common model of care in these areas is the surgical mission wherein experienced cleft surgeons perform surgeries and teach local doctors. The purpose of this research was to identify the differences in outcome between the surgical mission trip and the referral center model of care provided by the same team. METHODS: A retrospective analysis (2002-2012) was performed on data from surgical outcomes provided by the Outreach Surgical Center Lima that utilized both models of care (surgical mission and referral center). A total of 935 procedures were performed in 680 patients with clefts who were treated by the Outreach Surgical Center Program Lima since 2002. Patients in both groups were identified from our records (medical records and screening-day registries). All patients underwent a physical examination, had photographs taken, and any unfavorable results and complications were documented. Comparison of categorical variables (including outcomes) between care models was performed using Pearson's χ (2) test or Fisher's exact test when appropriate. In all cases a two-tailed test was performed and the p value for rejecting the null hypothesis (no difference or no association) was set at 0.05. RESULTS: We found significant differences between the two models of care with respect to unilateral cleft lip and cleft palate dehiscence (p = 0.02 and p = 0.04, respectively), palate postoperative hemorrhage (p < 0.01), and palatal fistula (p < 0.01) outcomes. DISCUSSION: Differences in observed surgical outcomes between the two models might be attributed to the surgeon's performance and/or the patient's age, and these factors are also considered with respect to the model of care. Limitations in long-term medical evaluation at each site should be identified and strategies to improve surgical outcomes must be developed to ensure that patients served by surgical missions obtain the same results achieved at a referral center.

Técnica de un colgajo: una nueva alternativa en el tratamiento de las fisuras palatinas / A flap technique: a new alternative in the treatment palate clefts

Introducción. Diferentes técnicas quirúrgicas para el tratamiento de las fisuras palatinas han sido descritas hasta la actualidad mostrando buenos y malos resultados. La técnica de dos colgajos (Bardach) es la técnica más utilizada en Estados Unidos, sin embargo, esta presenta algunas limitaciones. Objetivo. Presentar los resultados quirúrgicos obtenidos en el tratamiento de las fisuras palatinas unilaterales con una nueva técnica quirúrgica: la palatoplastia de un colgajo. Material y Método. El presente es un estudio descriptivo. Se describe una nueva técnica quirúrgica utilizada desde el año 2007 por nosotros y los resultados quirúrgicos obtenidos de 316 pacientes con fisura unilateral completa fueron operados con la técnica de un colgajo entre los años 2007 al 2014. Resultados. El cierre anatómico de los paladares fisurados operados se obtuvo en un 94.31 % de los casos y el cierre funcional se observó en un 96.84 % de los casos utilizando la técnica propuesta. Se observó un numero de 12 casos que evolucionaron con fístulas palatinas (3.79 %). Otros malos resultados y complicaciones son presentados en este estudio. Conclusiones. Se pudo observar un cierre anatómico y funcional aceptable de las fisuras palatinas con la utilización de la nueva técnica presentada. Los hallazgos observados avalan los aportes propuestos en este artículo con la nueva técnica quirúrgica para el tratamiento de la fisura palatina unilateral.

Introduction. Different surgical techniques for cleft palate repair have been described actually illustrating good and bad results. The two flap palatoplasty (Bardach) is the most used surgical technique in USA however it has some limitations. Objective. Compare the surgical results obtained in the unilateral cleft palate management using a new surgical technique: the one flap palatoplasty Material and Method. This is a descriptive study. We describe a new surgical technique used since 2007 by us and the obtained surgical outcomes 316 patients with complete unilateral cleft palate were operated using the one flap technique between 2007 to 2014. Results. Anatomical closure of the cleft palates have been obtained in 94.31 % of the cases and functional closure have been observed in 96.84 % of the cases using the proposed technique. We observed 12 patients with palatal fistula (3.79 %) in this study. Other bad results and complications are presented in this paper. Conclusion. We observed an acceptable anatomical and functional closure of the cleft palates using the presented surgical technique. These findings support our concepts presented in this paper using the new surgical technique for unilateral cleft lip repair.

A prospective, randomized, double-blind clinical trial study to evaluate a method for uvular repair during primary palatoplasty.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a new technique for uvular repair in patients with cleft palate. This is a prospective, randomized, double blind controlled trial study with Ethical Committee approval between two groups of 30 patients each with cleft palate who were operated on using the conventional and proposed method of uvular repair from 2005-2007. Data was from the Outreach Surgical Center Program, Lima, Peru. Two groups of 30 patients each with cleft palate were operated on using the new technique by the Outreach Surgical Center Program Lima since 2007. Data collection was accomplished by physical exam to evaluate the appearance of the constructed uvula, as well as the presence or absence of a fistula and by a speech therapist. This comparative study did not find a statistically significant association between the conventional and the proposed method for uvular repair or the presence of postoperative hypernasal speech determined at 1-5 years of age during follow-up (p = 0.640). This study observed no increase in the rate of fistulas and/or VPI between these two groups so it was concluded that the use of the proposed method for uvular reconstruction does not affect the closure of the velopharyngeal sphincter and, thus, the development of VPI is not increased.

Técnica quirúrgica para el tratamiento de fisuras labiales unilaterales consegmento lateral corto / Surgical technique for short lateral segment unilateral cleft lip repair

Introducción: La anatomía de la fisura labial es diferente para cada paciente y varios autores han descrito modificaciones de técnicas tradicionales en la búsqueda de obtener un diseño más individual con mejores resultados. La técnica de Millard es probablemente la técnica quirúrgica más usada por los cirujanos alrededor del mundo en el manejo de la fisura labial unilateral, sin embargo existen algunas limitaciones en esta técnica en casos con afección moderada o severa del segmento lateral. En ese sentido, se ha diseñado la presente técnica que busca corregir de manera paralela la deficiencia en el segmento lateral de la fisura unilateral. Esta técnica se basa en una doble rotación y avance localizando las cicatrices sobre las líneas naturales del labio entre las unidades estéticas del mismo. Material y método: Este es un estudio retrospectivo del tipo de serie de casos. Este artículo presenta una nueva técnica para el tratamiento quirúrgico de la fisura labial unilateral usada por el autor en 250 pacientes a manera de estudio retrospectivo descriptivo. Para evaluar la eficacia de esta técnica se estudió una muestra al azar de 72 pacientes. Esta técnica está basada en el concepto de doble rotación y avance, permitiendo el alargamiento de ambos segmentos de la fisura labial unilateral. Estas incisiones son ubicadas sobre las líneas naturales del labio, entre las subunidades estéticas del labio superior en su mayoría. Se evaluaron los resultados obtenidos con esta técnica considerando el número de malos resultados observados a través del seguimiento de los pacientes en un plazo mayor a un año a través del examen físico directo y el análisis de las fotos postoperatorias estandarizadas. Resultados: Desde el 2008 al 2010 esta técnica ha sido usada en 250 fisuras labiales unilaterales. Conclusiones: Una nueva técnica para el tratamiento de formas severas de fisura labial unilateral se describe aquí...

Background: The anatomy of the cleft lip is different for each patient and many authors have been described modifications of traditional techniques in order to obtain a more individual design and better results.MillardÆs technique is probably the most common surgical technique used by surgeons around the world, however there are some short-comings to repair more severe forms of unilateral cleft. In that way, we have developed a new technique which corrects the medial and lateral lip segmentÆs deficiency in unilateral cleft lip. This technique is based on a double rotation advancement concept placing the scars over the natural lines between the aesthetic subunits of the upper lip. Material and method: This is a retrospective study. This article presents a new technique for unilateral cleft lip repair used by us in 250 patients. In order to evaluate the efficacy of this technique we use a randomized sample of 72 patients. This technique is based in the double rotation advancement concept which let us the lengthening of both (medíal and lateral) lip segments of the unilateral cleft lip. All the incisions are placed on natural landmarks, between the aesthetic subunits of the upper lip. The evaluation of this technique was made in relation with the number of bad results in a period of time longer than one year through the physical exam and postoperatory pictures. Results: Since 2008 to 2010, this technique has been used in 250 unilateral clef lip repairs. We obtain a good functional and aesthetic result of the nose and upper lip with this technique. We obtained 7 / 72 (9.72 %) of bad results (surgeries with secondary lip revision).Conclusions: A new technique for severe forms of unilateral cleft lip repair is described here. This is a technique which let us obtain good aesthetic and functional results on upper lip and nose reconstruction of unilateral cleft lip cases, making an elongation of both (medíal and lateral) lip segments.