Furlow Palatoplasty: Should We Also Focus on the Size of the Nasopharynx?

OBJECTIVES: (1) To determine the incidence rate of velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD) according to 7 speech criteria post-Furlow palatoplasty. (2) To find an anatomical measurement of the cleft palate (or combination of measurements) associated with the occurrence of VPD. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Fifty-six patients with cleft palate ± cleft lip underwent palatoplasty with the Furlow technique at the age of 10 months. Pre-and post-palatoplasty cleft palate measurements were collected during the procedure. Three blinded speech-language pathologists (SLPs) retrospectively scored the patients from the chart data at age 4. Student t test and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis were used to evaluate the association and predictive capacity between cleft measurements and parameters (M&P) with all VPD criteria. RESULTS: The SLPs found an incidence of VPD according to 7 criteria: hypernasality (11%), audible nasal emission (4%), nasal rustle (14%), compensatory errors (4%), impairment of speech understandability (7%), and impairment of speech acceptability (16%). The SLPs recommended a secondary surgical procedure in 5 patients (9%). A statistically significant association was found between, respectively, 17 and 5 M&P and the occurrence of compensatory errors and audible nasal emission. Our data suggest that the length of the cleft, the cleft area, and the postoperative transversal size of the nasopharynx are the best indicators of the future positivity of VPD criteria. CONCLUSION: The size of the postoperative transverse nasopharyngeal area during the primary cleft palate procedure may become the focus of the next generation of cleft surgeons to reduce the incidence of VPD.

We can predict postpalatoplasty velopharyngeal insufficiency in cleft palate patients.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: To find an anatomical measurement of the cleft palate (or a calculated parameter) that predicts the occurrence of velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) after palatal cleft repair. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. METHODS: Charts were reviewed from cleft palate patients who underwent palatoplasty by the Von Langenbeck technique for isolated cleft palate or Bardach two-flap palatoplasty for cleft lip-palate. Seven anatomical cleft parameters were prospectively measured during the palatoplasty procedure. Three blinded speech-language pathologists retrospectively scored the clinically assessed VPI at 4 years of age. The recommendation of pharyngoplasty was also used as an indicator of VPI. RESULTS: From 1993 to 2008, 67 patients were enrolled in the study. The best predicting parameter was the ratio a/(30 - b1), in which a is defined as the posterior gap between the soft palate and the posterior pharyngeal wall and b1 is the width of the cleft at the hard palate level. An a/(30 - b1) ratio >0.7 to 0.8 is associated with a higher risk of developing VPI (relative risk = 2.2-5.1, sensitivity = 72%-81%, P < .03). CONCLUSIONS: The width of the cleft at the hard palate level and the posterior gap between the soft palate and the posterior pharyngeal wall were found to be the most significant parameters in predicting VPI. The best correlation was obtained with the ratio a/(30 - b1). LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.