Pediatric laryngeal cleft repair and dysphagia.

OBJECTIVE: To describe changes in diet and swallow function in patients with a laryngeal cleft after surgical repair of the laryngeal cleft. METHODS: Retrospective case series performed using chart review. Primary outcomes were diet and swallow function before and after laryngeal cleft repair. Clinical evaluation and video fluoroscopic swallow studies (VFSS) were used to assess pre- and post intervention swallowing. RESULTS: 16 pediatric patients were included in this study. Preoperatively, 14 (88%) patients had diet restrictions. Postoperatively, 12 (75%) patients tolerated a regular diet without limitation. 4 (25%) patients had no reduction in diet restrictions over the course of this study. For the 10 patients who transitioned to a regular diet postoperatively, a median of 300 days (range: 26 days - 3 years) passed to document achieving a regular diet. This was corroborated by an increase in normal oral and pharyngeal phase swallow function on VFSS postoperatively when compared with preoperative VFSS results. CONCLUSION: Dysphagia improves in most patients after laryngeal cleft repair. The range in time to a normal diet was wide. This may facilitate improved preoperative counseling and preparation of families' expectations.

Babbling, vegetative function, and language development after cricotracheal resection in aphonic children.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the importance of prelinguistic babbling by studying patterns of speech and language development after cricotracheal resection in aphonic children. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective review of seven previously aphonic children who underwent cricotracheal resection by our pediatric thoracic airway team. The analyzed variables include age, sex, comorbidity, grade of stenosis, length of resected trachea, and communication methods. METHODS: Data regarding the children's pre- and postsurgical communication methods, along with their utilization of speech therapy services, were obtained via speech-language pathology evaluations, clinical observations, and a standardized telephone survey supplemented by parental documentation. Postsurgical voice quality was assessed using the Pediatric Voice Outcomes Survey. RESULTS: All seven subjects underwent tracheostomy prior to 2 months of age when corrected for prematurity. The subjects remained aphonic for the entire duration of cannulation. Following cricotracheal resection, they experienced an initial delay in speech acquisition. Vegetative functions were the first laryngeal sounds to emerge. Initially, the children were only able to produce these sounds reflexively, but they subsequently gained voluntary control over these laryngeal functions. All subjects underwent an identifiable stage of canonical babbling that often occurred concomitantly with vocalizations. This was followed by the emergence of true speech. CONCLUSIONS: The initial delay in speech acquisition observed following decannulation, along with the presence of a postsurgical canonical stage in all study subjects, supports the hypothesis that babbling is necessary for speech and language development. Furthermore, the presence of babbling is universally evident regardless of the age at which speech develops. Finally, there is no demonstrable correlation between preoperative sign language and rate of speech development.