Predictors of Success After Furlow Palatoplasty for Repair of Cleft Palate: Does Syndrome Matter?

Objective To determine predictors of success following Veau 1 and 2 cleft palate repair in patients with and without syndromes. Study Design Retrospective review of prospectively collected data. Setting Tertiary care children’s hospital. Methods All children <18 months of age undergoing Furlow palatoplasty for Veau 1 and 2 cleft repair between 2000 and 2014 with postoperative perceptual speech assessment (PSA). Results In total, 368 consecutive patients were identified; 95 were excluded, resulting in 273 patients. Median age at surgery was 13.0 months (interquartile range [IQR], 11-15 months) with postoperative PSA at a median of 32.3 months (IQR, 26.3-44.5 months). Fifty patients (18.3%) had syndrome diagnosis; 59 patients (21.6%) had nonsyndromic Robin sequence. Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) occurred in 27 patients (10.5%); 13 underwent secondary speech surgery. Cleft-related speech errors occurred in 46 patients (17.6%). Non-cleft-related speech errors occurred in 155 patients (59.6%) and reduced intelligibility in 127 patients (47.9%). Oronasal fistula occurred in 23 patients (8.8%) and was exclusive to Veau 2 clefts. In multivariate analysis, age >13 months at palatoplasty demonstrated a 6-fold higher rate of VPI (hazard ratio [HR], 6.64; P < .01), worse speech outcomes (HR, 6.04; P < .01; HR, 1.60; P < .01; HR, 1.57; P = .02), and greater speech therapy utilization (HR, 2.18; P < .01). Conclusion VPI occurred in 10% of patients undergoing Furlow palatoplasty repair of Veau 1 or 2 clefts. Age <13 months at palatoplasty was associated with improved speech outcomes and lower VPI incidence (2.8% vs 16.2%). Syndromic diagnosis was associated with noncleft speech errors and reduced intelligibility on univariate analysis but not velopharyngeal function after palatoplasty.

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Cleft Palate

10.2310/ps.10026 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Oksana A Jackson ◽

Alison E Kaye ◽

David W Low

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Normal Function ◽

Speech Development ◽

Velopharyngeal Insufficiency ◽

Surgical Interventions ◽

Feeding Difficulties ◽

Oronasal Fistula ◽

Cleft Palate Repair ◽

Palate Repair ◽

Impaired Speech

A cleft of the palate represents one of the most common congenital anomalies of the craniofacial region. Palatal clefting can occur in combination with a cleft of the lip and alveolus or as an isolated finding and can vary significantly in severity. The intact palate is a structure that separates the oral and nasal cavities, and the function of the palate is to close off the nasal cavity during deglutition and to regulate the flow of air between the nose and mouth during speech production. An unrepaired cleft palate can thus result in nasal regurgitation of food and liquid, early feeding difficulties, and impaired speech development. The goals of surgical repair are to restore palatal integrity by closing the cleft defect and repairing the musculature to allow for normal function during speech. The secondary goal of cleft palate repair is to minimize deleterious effects on growth of the palate and face, which can be impacted by standard surgical interventions. This review describes two of the most commonly performed cleft palate repair techniques in use today, as well as highlighting special anatomic considerations, summarizing perioperative care, and reviewing postoperative complications and their management. This review contains 11 figures, 2 videos, 3 tables and 63 references Key words: cleft, cleft team, Furlow, orofacial, oronasal fistula, palatoplasty, speech, submucous cleft, velopharyngeal insufficiency

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Management of Velopharyngeal Insufficiency in Cleft Patients With and Without Multidisciplinary Team Care

The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal ◽

10.1177/1055665620954063 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 105566562095406

Author(s):

Vanessa Torrecillas ◽

Sarah Hatch Pollard ◽

Hilary McCrary ◽

Helene M. Taylor ◽

Alexandra Palmer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Multidisciplinary Team ◽

Speech Therapy ◽

Fold Increase ◽

Velopharyngeal Insufficiency ◽

Team Care ◽

Team Assessment ◽

Hospital Patients ◽

Cleft Palate Repair ◽

Or Team

Objective: To evaluate the effect of an American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association (ACPA)–approved multidisciplinary team on velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) diagnosis and treatment. Design: Retrospective cohort setting; tertiary children’s hospital patients; children with cleft palate repair identified through procedure codes. Main Outcome Measures: Velopharyngeal insufficiency diagnosis was assigned based on surgeon or team assessment. Age at diagnosis and surgery was recorded. Difference in age and rate of VPI diagnosis and surgery was analyzed with t test. Multivariate linear and logistic regression adjusted for confounding variables. Results: Nine hundred forty patients were included with 71.5% cared for by an ACPA-approved multidisciplinary team. More (38.8% ) team care patients were found to have a diagnosis of VPI in comparison to 10% in independent care ( P < .001). Team care was associated with an almost 6-fold increase in VPI diagnosis ( P < .001). Team care was associated with a higher proportion of speech surgery (21% vs 10%, P < .001). Among children receiving team care, each visit was associated with 25% increased odds of being diagnosed with VPI ( P < .001) and 20% increased odds of receiving speech surgery ( P < .001). Age at VPI diagnosis and speech surgery were similar between groups ( P = .55 and .29). Discussion: Team care was associated with more accurate detection of VPI, resulting in more VPI speech therapy visits and surgical management. A higher number of team visits were similarly associated. Conclusion: Further studies of the clinical implication of timely and accurate VPI diagnosis, including quality of life assessments, are recommended to provide stronger guidance on team visit and evaluation planning.

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Cleft Palate

10.2310/ot.10026 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Oksana A Jackson ◽

Alison E Kaye ◽

David W Low

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Normal Function ◽

Speech Development ◽

Velopharyngeal Insufficiency ◽

Surgical Interventions ◽

Feeding Difficulties ◽

Oronasal Fistula ◽

Cleft Palate Repair ◽

Palate Repair ◽

Impaired Speech

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Hoarseness in Children with Cleft Palate

Otolaryngology ◽

10.1016/j.otohns.2008.05.209 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 139 (2_suppl) ◽

pp. P65-P65

Author(s):

Katherine K Hamming ◽

Marsha Finkelstein ◽

James D Sidman

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Speech Therapy ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Retrospective Chart Review ◽

High Rate ◽

Velopharyngeal Insufficiency ◽

Additional Risk ◽

Rate Of Speech ◽

The Relationship ◽

Pierre Robin

Objective 1) To determine the rate of hoarseness in children with cleft palate (CP). 2) To understand the relationship between velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) and hoarseness in children with CP. Methods Retrospective chart review of 98 patients treated for CP by a tertiary care Children's Hospital Cleft Team and born between 1990 and 2001. Results Of the 98 patients, 59 were male and 39 female. All types of CP were represented. 89% received speech therapy. 41.6% had VPI. The overall rate of hoarseness was 22.4% and of dysphonia was 55.9%. The presence of VPI did not correlate with the presence of hoarseness or dysphonia. However, while VPI decreased when comparing ages 3–4 (58.1%) with ages 6–7 (32.1%) (p <0.001), the hoarseness rates did not change as children got older. Additionally, there was a trend toward higher hoarseness and dysphonia rates in children with Pierre Robin Syndrome (PRS). Conclusions Both VPI and hoarseness are common findings in patients with CP. VPI improves as children get older in the setting of a tertiary care cleft team and a high rate of speech therapy. However, hoarseness and dysphonia do not appear to improve. These findings suggest that the theory that VPI causes hoarseness due to compensatory speech mechanisms may be incorrect. Even when resonance problems have improved, CP patients should continue to be evaluated by speech therapists for voice disturbances, as well as evaluated by otolaryngologists for treatable causes of hoarseness. Further, patients with PRS may be at additional risk for voice disturbances and should be treated accordingly.

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Incidence of Oronasal Fistulae and Velopharyngeal Insufficiency after Cleft Palate Repair: An Audit of 211 Children Born between 1990 and 2004

The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal ◽

10.1597/06-205.1 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 45 (2) ◽

pp. 172-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 132

Author(s):

Yun Shan Phua ◽

Tristan de Chalain

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Surgical Repair ◽

Velopharyngeal Insufficiency ◽

Secondary Surgery ◽

Oronasal Fistula ◽

Future Performance ◽

Cleft Palate Repair ◽

Study Population ◽

Palate Repair

Objective: We present an audit of primary cleft palate surgery at our unit, including rates of oronasal fistula development, speech outcomes, and rates of velopharyngeal insufficiency requiring secondary surgery. Design: A retrospective study of patients with all cleft palate types, born between January 1990 and December 2004, who underwent primary palatoplasty at Middlemore Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. Patients: The study included 211 patients, collectively operated on by five different surgeons. Results: The overall rate of true fistula development was 12.8% over a mean follow-up period of 4 years 10 months. The incidence of true fistulae that required surgical repair was 8.1%. Fistula rates were higher for more severe degrees of clefting but were not affected by gender or type of surgical repair. Overall, 31.8% of the study population had some degree of hypernasality following primary palatoplasty. Secondary surgery for velopharyngeal insufficiency was required in 13.3% of patients. Following surgical correction of velopharyngeal insufficiency, no patients were reported to have appreciable hypernasality and 21.7% were reported to have mild hypernasality, a result comparable to previously published audits. The requirement for secondary surgery was higher in patients with more severe clefts. Conclusion: Our results are comparable to other recent studies. We believe that highly coordinated cleft care helps ensure such outcomes. These data provide a benchmark against which we can measure future performance in our attempts to improve outcomes of cleft repair.

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Clinical Outcomes of Primary Palatal Surgery in Children with Nonsyndromic Cleft Palate with and without Lip

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2015/185459 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015 ◽

pp. 1-5 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Seunghee Ha ◽

Kyung S. Koh ◽

Heewon Moon ◽

Seungeun Jung ◽

Tae Suk Oh

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Clinical Outcomes ◽

Cleft Lip ◽

Speech Therapy ◽

Cleft Lip And Palate ◽

Medical Center ◽

Velopharyngeal Insufficiency ◽

Oronasal Fistula ◽

Clinical Records ◽

Palatal Surgery

This study presents clinical outcomes of primary cleft palate surgery, including rate of oronasal fistula development, rate of velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) requiring secondary surgery, and speech outcomes. We examined the effect of cleft type on the clinical outcomes. Retrospective analysis was performed using clinical records of all patients who received a primary palatoplasty at the Cleft Palate Clinic at Seoul Asan Medical Center, South Korea, between 2007 and 2012. The study included 292 patients with nonsyndromic overt cleft palate (±cleft lip). The results revealed that the rate of oronasal fistula was 7.9% and the incidence of VPI based on the rate of secondary palatal surgery was 19.2%. The results showed that 50.3% of all the patients had received speech therapy and 28.8% and 51.4% demonstrated significant hypernasality and articulatory deficits, respectively. The results of the rate of VPI and speech outcomes were significantly different in terms of cleft type. Except for the rate of oronasal fistula, patients with cleft palate generally exhibited better clinical outcomes compared to those with bilateral or unilateral cleft lip and palate. This study suggests that several factors, including cleft type, should be identified and comprehensively considered to establish an optimal treatment regimen for patients with cleft palate.

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Speech and Surgical Outcomes in Children With Veau Types III and IV Cleft Palate

The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal ◽

10.1177/1055665617735109 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 396-404 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Mitchell A. Pet ◽

Ryan Dodge ◽

Babette Siebold ◽

Sara Kinter ◽

Jonathan Perkins ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Surgical Outcomes ◽

Tertiary Care ◽

Oronasal Fistula ◽

Air Emission ◽

International Adoptees ◽

Cleft Palate Repair ◽

Relative Delay ◽

Palate Repair ◽

Study Setting

Objective: This study compares speech and surgical outcomes in internationally adopted and nonadopted patients undergoing cleft palate repair, and examines the influence of age at initial palatoplasty. Design: Retrospective cohort study setting: Tertiary Care Children’s Hospital. Patients: 70 international adoptees and 211 nonadoptees with Veau type III and IV clefts (without associated syndrome) repaired at our institution. Outcome Measures: Outcomes included VPI, compensatory misarticulations, intelligibility, nasal air emission, oronasal fistula, and secondary speech surgery. Speech evaluations completed near 5 years of age were gathered from a prospectively collected database. Results: Adoptees underwent palatoplasty 5.2 months after arrival, a mean of 10.4 months later than nonadoptees. Adoptees were significantly more likely to develop moderate/severe VPI and trended toward more frequent need for secondary speech surgery. Oronasal fistula occurred at similar rates. Increased age at initial palatoplasty was a significant predictor of moderate to severe VPI, and need for secondary speech surgery. Conclusions: International adoptees undergo palatoplasty 10.4 months later than nonadoptees and are significantly more likely to develop moderate/severe VPI, with a trend toward increased secondary speech surgery. An association between treatment delay and moderate/severe VPI and secondary speech surgery has been demonstrated. While a causal relationship between delayed repair and inferior outcomes in international adoptees has not been proven, this data suggests that surgical intervention upon unrepaired cleft palates soon after adoption may be beneficial. The opportunity for a change in practice exists, as half of the 10.4-month relative delay in palate repair occurs postadoption.

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Perceptual Speech Outcomes After Early Primary Palatal Repair in Ugandan Patients With Cleft Palate

The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal ◽

10.1177/1055665620980249 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 105566562098024

Author(s):

Kim Bettens ◽

Laura Bruneel ◽

Cassandra Alighieri ◽

Daniel Sseremba ◽

Duncan Musasizib ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Cleft Lip ◽

Speech Therapy ◽

Cleft Lip And Palate ◽

Control Group ◽

English Speaking ◽

And Gender ◽

Early Primary ◽

Velopharyngeal Function ◽

Normal Speech

Objective: To provide speech outcomes of English-speaking Ugandan patients with a cleft palate with or without cleft lip (CP±L). Design: Prospective case–control study. Setting: Referral hospital for patients with cleft lip and palate in Uganda. Participants: Twenty-four English-speaking Ugandan children with a CP±L (15 boys, 9 girls, mean 8.4 years) who received palatal closure prior to 6 months of age and an age- and gender-matched control group of Ugandan children without cleft palate. Interventions: Comparison of speech outcomes of the patient and control group. Main Outcome Measures: Perceptual speech outcomes including articulation, resonance, speech understandability and acceptability, and velopharyngeal composite score (VPC-sum). Information regarding speech therapy, fistula rate, and secondary surgery. Results: Normal speech understandability was observed in 42% of the patients, and 38% were judged with normal speech acceptability. Only 16% showed compensatory articulation. Acceptable resonance was found in 71%, and 75% of the patients were judged perceptually to present with competent velopharyngeal function based on the VPC-sum. Additional speech intervention was recommended in 25% of the patients. Statistically significant differences for all these variables were still observed with the control children ( P < .05). Conclusions: Overall, acceptable speech outcomes were found after early primary palatal closure. Comparable or even better results were found in comparison with international benchmarks, especially regarding the presence of compensatory articulation. Whether this approach is transferable to Western countries is the subject for further research.

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Is Risk of Secondary Surgery for Oronasal Fistula Following Primary Cleft Palate Repair Associated With Hospital Case Volume and Cost-to-Charge Ratio?

The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal ◽

10.1177/1055665620959528 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 58 (5) ◽

pp. 603-611

Author(s):

Giap H. Vu ◽

Christopher L. Kalmar ◽

Carrie E. Zimmerman ◽

Laura S. Humphries ◽

Jordan W. Swanson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Outcome Measure ◽

Charge Ratio ◽

Fistula Repair ◽

Case Volume ◽

Secondary Surgery ◽

Hospital Case ◽

Oronasal Fistula ◽

Cleft Palate Repair ◽

Palate Repair

Objective: This study assesses the association between risk of secondary surgery for oronasal fistula following primary cleft palate repair and 2 hospital characteristics—cost-to-charge ratio (RCC) and case volume of cleft palate repair. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: This study utilized the Pediatric Health Information System (PHIS) database, which consists of clinical and resource-utilization data from >49 hospitals in the United States. Patients and Participants: Patients undergoing primary cleft palate repair from 2004 to 2009 were abstracted from the PHIS database and followed up for oronasal fistula repair between 2004 and 2015. Main Outcome Measure(s): The primary outcome measure was whether patients underwent oronasal fistula repair after primary cleft palate repair. Results: Among 5745 patients from 45 institutions whom met inclusion criteria, 166 (3%) underwent oronasal fistula repair within 6 to 11 years of primary cleft palate repair. Primary palatoplasty at high-RCC facilities was associated with a higher rate of subsequent oronasal fistula repair (odds ratio [OR] = 1.84 [1.32-2.56], adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.81 [1.28-2.59]; P ≤ .001). Likelihood of surgery for oronasal fistula was independent of hospital case volume (OR = 0.83 [0.61-1.13], P = .233; AOR = 0.86 [0.62-1.20], P = .386). Patients with complete unilateral or bilateral cleft palate were more likely to receive oronasal fistula closure compared to those with unilateral-incomplete cleft palate (AOR = 2.09 [1.27-3.56], P = .005; AOR = 3.14 [1.80-5.58], P < .001). Conclusions: Subsequent need for oronasal fistula repair, while independent of hospital case volume for cleft palate repair, increased with increasing hospital RCC. Our study also corroborates complete cleft palate and cleft lip as risk factors for oronasal fistula.

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Greater Palatal Cleft Width Predicts an Increased Risk for Unfavorable Outcomes in Cleft Palate Repair

The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal ◽

10.1177/10556656211029537 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 105566562110295

Author(s):

Åsa C. Okhiria ◽

Fatemeh Jabbari ◽

Malin M. Hakelius ◽

Monica M. Blom Johansson ◽

Daniel J. Nowinski

Keyword(s):

Cleft Palate ◽

Cleft Lip ◽

Cleft Lip And Palate ◽

University Hospital ◽

Velopharyngeal Insufficiency ◽

Secondary Surgery ◽

Increased Risk ◽

Cleft Palate Repair ◽

The Impact ◽

Nasal Emission

Objective: To investigate the impact of cleft width and cleft type on the need for secondary surgery and velopharyngeal competence from a longitudinal perspective. Design: Retrospective, longitudinal study. Setting: A single multidisciplinary craniofacial team at a university hospital. Patients: Consecutive patients with unilateral or bilateral cleft lip and palate and cleft palate only (n = 313) born from 1984 to 2002, treated with 2-stage palatal surgery, were reviewed. A total of 213 patients were included. Main Outcome Measures: The impact of initial cleft width and cleft type on secondary surgery. Assessment of hypernasality, audible nasal emission, and glottal articulation from routine follow-ups from 3 to 16 years of age. The assessments were compared with reassessments of 10% of the recordings. Results: Cleft width, but not cleft type, predicted the need for secondary surgery, either due to palatal dehiscence or velopharyngeal insufficiency. The distribution of cleft width between the scale steps on a 4-point scale for hypernasality and audible nasal emission differed significantly at 5 years of age but not at any other age. Presence of glottal articulation differed significantly at 3 and 5 years of age. No differences between cleft types were seen at any age for any speech variable. Conclusions: Cleft width emerged as a predictor of the need for secondary surgery as well as more deviance in speech variables related to velopharyngeal competence during the preschool years. Cleft type was not related to the need for secondary surgery nor speech outcome at any age.

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