OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to determine the relative importance of surgical technique, age at repair, and cleft type for velopharyngeal function. DESIGN: This was a retrospective study of @entity1 operated on by two surgeons using different techniques (von Langenbeck and Veau-Wardill-Kilner [VY]) at @entity1 's Hospital, Boston, MA. @entity1 : We included 228 @entity1 who were at least 4 years of age at the time of review. @entity1 with identifiable @entity751 , nonsyndromic Robin sequence, @entity6220 , communicatively significant @entity393 , and inadequate speech data were excluded. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Need for a pharyngeal flap was the measure of outcome. RESULTS: Pharyngeal flap was necessary in 14% of von Langenbeck and 15% of VY repaired @entity1 . There was a significant linear association (p = .025) between age at repair and @entity1739 ( @entity1739 ). @entity1 with an attached @entity2419 ( @entity2419 ), and @entity3384 ( @entity3384 ) had a 10% flap rate, whereas those with an unattached vomer, @entity2419 ( @entity2419 ), and @entity3384 ( @entity3384 ) had a 23% flap rate (p = .03). Age at repair was critical for the unattached-vomer group (p = .03) but was not statistically significant for the attached-vomer group (p = .52). CONCLUSIONS: Surgical technique was not a significant variable either in aggregate or for the Veau types. @entity1 in the earliest repair group (8-10 months) were the least likely to require a pharyngeal flap. Early repair was more critical for @entity2419 and @entity3384 @entity1 . There was no correlation between @entity1739 and Veau hierarchy. The attached vomer/levator muscle complex may be a more important predictor of surgical success than the anatomic extent of cleft.

Velopharyngeal function in XXXX : relevance of surgical technique, age at repair, and cleft type.

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['Patients', 'patients', 'Children', 'PATIENTS'] @entity6220 :: ('MESH:D020279', 'Disease') :: ['central nervous system disorders'] @entity1739 :: ('MESH:D014681', 'Disease') :: ['VPI', 'velopharyngeal insufficiency'] @entity2419 :: ('MESH:D002972', 'Disease') :: ['hard/soft cleft palate', 'SCP', 'vomer, soft cleft palate', 'HSCP'] @entity751 :: ('MESH:D013577', 'Disease') :: ['syndromes'] @entity393 :: ('MESH:D034381', 'Disease') :: ['hearing loss'] @entity3384 :: ('MESH:D002971', 'Disease') :: ['unilateral cleft lip/palate', 'UCLP', 'BCLP', 'bilateral cleft lip/palate']
@entity2419 :: (MESH:D002972,Disease) :: ['nonsyndromic cleft palate']
