Management of cleft lip and palate in adults

The use of surgical template for palatal fistula repair in cleft palate using tongue flap: 3 case report

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE

The occurrence of a palatal fistula after surgical correction in a cleft palate patient is the most common complication in cleft palate surgery. This condition might be due to poor tissue quality and vascularity, an error in the surgical technique, the size of the defect, the age of the patient, and infection.

CASE PRESENTATION

Three patients with fistula in the anterior and mid-palate regions asked for correction. In past history, all cases had received multiple surgical corrections, and the result showed with recurrent fistula.

DISCUSSION

Surgical interventions for correction of palatal fistula might be difficult as the surrounding tissue has lost its quality, especially in secondary surgery or after multiple surgical interventions. Flap taken from the tongue can be chosen as an alternative source to close the fistula based on the consideration that the tongue has a favourable position, and located as the nearest tissue directly opposite to the palatal region, and has good vascularity. The aim of this report is to show the advantages of the use a surgical template made from alumina foil to measure the size and shape of the flap in accordance with the form and size of existed fistula. The surgical template was used as a guidance during drawn the design of the flap on the surface of the tongue.

CONCLUSION

The use of surgical templates was very useful as guidance during the marking procedure on the surface of the tongue for designing an individual tongue flap form.

Airway challenges in an adult with hemifacial microsomia along with neglected cleft palate: what to expect?

A female patient in her early 20s, with a known diagnosis of hemifacial microsomia (unilateral microtia and mandibular hypoplasia) accompanied with an unoperated cleft palate, came for an infected mandibular distraction plate removal. The anticipated difficult airway and lack of enough literature about what to expect in such a scenario, along with the psychological impact on the patient, made this case challenging and thought-provoking. Inability to perform the awake tracheal intubation because of the uncooperative patient, along with the difficult fibreoptic owing to narrowed nostrils, offered an extra set of challenges.

Primary Cleft Lip Repair in Adults Under Local Anesthesia

OBJECTIVE

There are many adults with cleft lip deformities in developing countries. This is due to the lack of public awareness, social stigma, distance from the health center, and parents' financial condition. Lip repair under local anesthesia is safe, cost-effective and would be beneficial for the underprivileged population.

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study with follow-up of 1 to 8 years.

SETTING

Academic Hospital.

PATIENTS/PARTICIPANTS

Cleft lip repair was performed in 252 patients of age more than 12 years from 2012 to 2019. Patients with cleft palate, cardiopulmonary disease, who did not consent for the procedure while awake were excluded.

INTERVENTIONS

Cleft lip surgery done under local anesthesia.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Outcome measures were patients' self-satisfaction and comments of peer.

RESULTS

Two hundred fifty-two primary cleft lip operations were done in 168 male and 84 female patients. The mean age was 23.62 years, and the mean weight was 49.66 kg. Unilateral was 227, Bilateral cleft lip 25. The postoperative period was uneventful. No case of wound dehiscence or wound infection was observed. Patients were discharged on the same day, except the ones who traveled a long distance.

CONCLUSION

Cleft lip repair in adults under local anesthesia is safe and cost-effective.

The Effect of Surgical Timing on 30-Day Outcomes in Cleft Palate Repair

BACKGROUND

The optimal age for cleft palate repair continues to be debated, with little discussion of surgical risk related to operative timing. This study of 3088 cleft palate patients analyzed the impact of surgical timing on perioperative and 30-day postoperative outcomes.

METHODS

Primary cleft palate repairs were identified in the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database from 2012 to 2015. Data were combed for total postoperative complications, rates of readmission and reoperation, operating room time, and length of stay. Bivariate analyses were performed comparing 3-month periods from months 6 to 18, and months 0 to 5, 18 to 23, 24 to 29, and 30 to 59.

RESULTS

Despite a higher proportion of isolated soft palate closure, children operated on before 6 months had a higher complication rate than children at other ages (7.1 percent versus 3.2 percent; OR, 2.4; p = 0.04), and higher rates of both readmission (3.6 percent versus 1.4 percent; OR, 3.6; p = 0.02) and reoperation (2.4 percent versus 0.5 percent; OR, 4.7; p = 0.04). There were no differences in short-term outcomes for any other age group younger than 5 years, and no differences in hospital length of stay among any age groups.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors' findings suggest a relative contraindication to operation before 6 months. As there were no differences between any other age groups, long-term speech optimization should continue to be the primary consideration for operative planning. These findings improve the current rationale for palatoplasty timing, and can aid surgeons and parents in the surgical decision-making process.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic, III.

Primary Cleft Palate Repair Among Older-Age Children and Adolescents in the United States

PURPOSE

Older age cleft palate (CP) repair in international settings has been associated with increased surgical morbidity. This study assesses the prevalence and risks associated with late-age CP repair (age > 5 years) in the United States.

METHODS

Primary CP repair patients less than the age of 18 years were identified in the National Surgical Quality Improvement pediatric database from 2012 to 2018. Total postoperative complications, readmissions, reoperations, duration of surgery, and length of stay were recorded. T-tests and χ² analyses were used to compare variables between age groups 0-5, 6-10, and 11-17.

RESULTS

A total of 10,022 primary CP procedures were identified from 2012 to 2018, of which 868 (8.6%) received repair at age > 5 years. Hispanic patients constituted a larger proportion of CP repair from ages 11 to 17 years than repair at other ages (P < .001). In comparison with children treated from ages 0 to 5 years, children operated on between ages 6 and 10 or 11 and 17 years experienced no increases in unplanned readmissions, reoperations, or complication rates after surgery. Patients of ages 6-10 years and 11-17 years had decreased operating room time (P < .001) compared with younger patients. Patients of ages 11-17 years also had decreased hospital length of stay (P = .04).

CONCLUSIONS

Many children in the United States received primary CP repair after the age of 5 years likely due to late treatment of submucosal clefts or delayed care among international immigrants/adoptees. Old age procedures were not associated with increased short-term surgical morbidity in comparison with surgery at earlier time points. The causes and implications of older age primary surgery warrant further study.

Oronasal Fistula Incidence Associated With Vomer Flap Repair of Cleft Palate: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

OBJECTIVES

To determine the incidence of oronasal fistulas (ONF) associated with primary repair of the anterior palate using a single-layered, superiorly based, vomer mucoperiosteal flap.

DESIGN

A systematic review of MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane, and Web of Science databases using the keywords: "vomer flap" and "cleft palate repair" were carried out. A meta-analysis was performed using random effect modeling with stratified analysis by syndromic diagnosis, number of surgeons, and mean age.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S)

Incidence of ONFs.

RESULTS

The meta-analysis included 9 studies with a total of 464 children who met inclusion criteria. The overall ONF rate was 3.0% (95% CI: 1.0-9.0). Fistula rates were not significantly different in studies that included syndromic patients compared to studies that did not, 5.0% (95% CI: 1.0-24.0) versus 3.0% (95% CI: 1.0-6.0), respectively. There was no significant difference between studies in which there was a single surgeon versus multiple surgeons, 3.0% (95% CI: 1.0-13.0) versus 4.0% (95% CI: 1.0-8.0), respectively. Age at the time of cleft repair showed no statistically significant difference in fistula rate when comparing children with a mean age less than 12 months to those greater than 12 months, 3.0% (95% CI: 1.0-5.0) versus 5.0% (95% CI: 1.0-28.0), respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

The vomer flap technique in cleft palate repair appears to be associated with a low ONF rate unaffected by syndromic diagnosis, number of surgeons, or patient age at time of repair.

Synchronous correction in secondary cleft deformities: a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

Patients with cleft lip and palate deformities undergo multiple surgical procedures from infancy till adolescence. We hypothesized that combining these surgical procedures might offer a better quality of life without compromising on surgical outcomes.

METHODS

A prospective cohort study was conducted at our center including all adult patients who reported to us for the correction of secondary cleft deformities. All patients with secondary deformities associated with cleft lip palate and alveolus were enrolled in the study. Patients with medical issues who are not fit for general anesthesia, Bilateral Cleft deformities, and patients with gross skeletal deformity warranting surgical correction by Le fort I distraction were excluded from the study. All the patients who were included in the study underwent simultaneous lip revision, rhinoplasty and cleft alveolar bone grafting. The outcome lip nose profile was assessed using standardized patient photographs with Ascher Mcdade Scale and Aesthetic outcome index by 2 blinded maxillofacial surgeons and the bone grafting was assessed using Berglands grading system.

RESULTS

Twenty-eight patients were enrolled in the study, 10 patients were excluded based on the exclusion criteria. Thus 18 patients planned for synchronous correction of unilateral secondary cleft deformities were included in the study The Ascher Mcdade Score improved from 15 (13-16), to 4 (4-5) in the post op. All the patients were totally satisfied with the surgical outcome. The aesthetic index showed excellent outcomes in all the lip-nose procedures, except for one case which showed a good outcome. The Bergland Scale showed normal bone height in all cases of alveolar bone grafting, except for one case, which showed less than 3/4^th fill of bone. No complications were associated with any of the procedures.

CONCLUSIONS

Simultaneous correction of multiple secondary cleft lip deformities should be considered when feasible, to improve the psychological benefit and reduce financial burden on these patients. However, careful planning and execution of the techniques is essential to avoid complications associated with vascular compromise.

Dental Infection Cause of Flap Loss in Cleft Palate Repair

Flap necrosis is a very common complication encountered after cleft palate repair, especially in uni-pedicled flaps. Many causes have been attributed to this complication but very limited data is available in the literature on dental infection as the cause of flap necrosis. This report of a case describes loss of flap caused due to a periapical granuloma of dental origin impinging on the pedicle causing suspected thrombosis of the pedicle resulting in flap necrosis. Since this is an important cause that can be easily prevented, it is reported.

The South Asian facial anthropometric profile: A systematic review

PURPOSE

Craniofacial anatomy, as measured by facial anthropometric data, varies significantly between races. South Asia, comprised of eight countries, represents a large proportion of the global population and is the fastest-growing region of the world. This systematic review presents the facial anthropometric data collected for populations from this region.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines. A systematic review of the literature was conducted by an electronic search of the MEDLINE and Cochran databases, returning 1675 articles. Bibliographies of accepted articles were screened to identify further eligible studies.

RESULTS

A total of 12 articles were considered eligible for the systematic review. Two studies were conducted in Bangladesh, 7 in India, and 3 in Nepal. No facial anthropometric data were found for populations from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Maldives, Pakistan, or Sri Lanka. Qualitative and quantitative parameters from the 12 studies were extracted.

CONCLUSION

There is a paucity of facial anthropometric data for South Asian populations. As South Asia has a significant prevalence of craniofacial anomalies and a burgeoning cosmetic facial surgery market, it is in the interest of both the craniofacial surgeon and the South Asian patient to collect baseline facial anthropometric data for this population.

A study on the evaluation of bite force, prosthetic and nutritional status in adult cleft patients in Kolkata

CONTEXT

Altered orofacial morphology and poor dental status affects the dietary intake of cleft patient, making susceptible to nutritional imbalance. Oral health care planning for this population is impossible without the evaluation of stomatognathic functional status as well as prosthetic and nutritional status and need.

AIMS

The aim of this study was to evaluate prosthetic status and prosthetic treatment need, bite force and nutritional status, in adult cleft patients and to compare them with the adult noncleft population of similar definition.

SETTINGS AND DESIGN

Cleft (n = 250) and noncleft (n = 250) individuals of either sex, aged 18 years or above, excluding severe medically compromised and differently abled, were examined and individual biteforce was measured after obtaining written consent and ethical clearance from the two institutions in Kolkata.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

A "raw data sheet" was prepared according to the parameters of the "Oral Health Surveys: Basic methods," World Health Organization (1997) for evaluation of prosthetic status and need, dentition status and Mini-Nutritional Assessment, Nestlé (1994) for the evaluation nutritional status. A Gnathodynamometer was used to record bite force.

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED

Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 20.0.1, Graph Pad Prism version 5, Student's t-test, and Chi-square test.

RESULTS

The mean bite force of frontal area in cleft group (3.4356 ± 0.9457 kgf) was found to be significantly lower (P < 0.0001) than in noncleft (22.8749 ± 5.3644 kgf) group. The difference of mean bite force in the right side (2.4576 ± 0.6131 kgf) and left side (1.2708 ± 0.1036 kgf) in cleft group was found to be statistically significant (P < 0.0001). Prosthetic need in maxillary arch was found to be significantly (χ2: 490.0000; P < 0.0001) higher in cleft than in noncleft group. Nutritional status was observed to be significantly (χ2: 179.4049; P < 0.0001) higher "at risk" in cleft than in noncleft group.

CONCLUSIONS

Lack of adequate Government concern leading to significantly higher prosthetic need and lower prosthetic status, hence lower bite force resulting lower nutritional status in adult cleft patients in Kolkata.

Buccal Fat Pad: A Useful Adjunct Flap in Cleft Palate Repair

Aim

The aim of the study is to describe the technique and also the outcome of using buccal fat pad (BFP) as an adjunct flap in cleft palate repair and to report the surgical outcome.

Materials and Methods

All the surgical repairs with BFP were done under general anaesthesia. The use of BFP was indicated in patients who needed a secondary palatal cleft repair, those with wide palatal clefts or patients whose primary palatal cleft repair was complicated intraoperatively by inadvertent tearing of the nasal mucosa. The raw wound surfaces were dressed with Vaseline gauze instilled with Framycetin. All subjects 4 years of age and below had oral toileting with warm saline-soaked gauze after each meal. The other patients had oral toileting with warm saline mouth bath in addition to conventional toothbrushing.

Results

Eight patients were included in this study with an age range of 1-26 years (mean ± SD = 6.1 ± 8.6 years). Three patients presented with wide palatal clefts, another three presented with dehiscence after a primary repair which necessitated a secondary repair, while the remaining two patients had inadvertent iatrogenic tear of the nasal mucosa during the primary surgical repair. For the latter set of patients, repair was completed by the use of BFP as an adjunct at the same surgery. Post-operative evaluation was satisfactory in all cases, with healing of the flaps and complete epithelialization of the BFP in 1 month. All the patients experienced post-operative cheek swelling, signifying the post-operative oedema due to BFP harvest. However, this was usually resolved within 48 h. Healing was satisfactory with full epithelialization, and no complications were observed.

Conclusions

Successful application of BFP as an adjunct flap in palatal cleft closure is demonstrated in these series. It is recommended that cleft surgeons add this technique to their armamentarium in difficult cases, especially in wide palatal cleft repair, secondary palatal cleft repair and in cases of inadvertent tearing of nasal mucosa during primary cleft palate repair.

Early complications after cleft palate repair: a multivariate statistical analysis of 709 patients

This study presents a large consecutive institutional experience with primary cleft palate repairs. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of early complications after cleft palate surgery in a series of nonsyndromic children treated at the authors' comprehensive cleft center. This retrospective analysis includes 709 consecutive patients with cleft palate treated by 6 different staff surgeons at Guwahati Comprehensive Cleft Care Center between April 2011 and December 2012. Secondary cases were excluded from this study. The patients were initially followed up between 1 week and 1 month after surgery. The overall incidence of early complications was determined, and the effect of the extent of clefting, the type of repair, the age at repair, and the operating surgeon were analyzed. Early complications in this study include dehiscence of the wound, fistula formation, hanging palate, and total or partial flap necrosis. There was a 2.4% rate (17/709) of take-back to the operating room in the immediate postoperative period for control of bleeding, although no blood transfusions were required. The incidence of postoperative fistulas in this series was 3.9% (20/512). There was a statistically significant increase in the incidence of cleft palatal fistula for Veau IV clefts, but there were no significant differences with respect to operating surgeon, patient sex, patient age, and type of palatoplasty. The complication and fistula rate is consistent with other published reports from developed countries and provides evidence for the value of this model for surgical delivery in the developing world.

The efficacy of vomer flap for closure of hard palate during primary lip repair

BACKGROUND AND AIM

This study presents the institutional experience of the use of vomer flap for early closure of hard palate during unilateral complete cleft-lip repair. The purpose of this study was to determine the survival rate of the vomer flap and to investigate its effect on the subsequent palatoplasty.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

This retrospective analysis includes 101 non-syndromic patients with complete unilateral cleft lip who received a vomer flap for the closure of the hard palate during cleft-lip repair. Patients were aged 6 months to 28 years (median 1 year). Success rates of the vomer flaps were assessed clinically and through pre-operative photographs taken at the time of subsequent palate repair. Ninety-two patients returned for second-stage palate repair, and 74 patients with adequate post-operative follow-up information were statistically analysed.

RESULTS

Of the 101 patients who were operated with primary lip repair and simultaneous vomer flap, only 54 (52.4%) vomer flaps healed completely. Out of 92 patients who returned for subsequent palatoplasty, 71 (77.2%) were operated with the two-flap technique, and 19 (20.7%) received von Langenbeck repairs. Seven (9.1%) patients had a surgical complication. The failure of previous vomer repair and von Langenbeck surgical technique were identified as factors associated with post-operative complications.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that failed vomer flaps increased the risks of complications in the subsequent palate repair. Furthermore, efforts to use von Langenbeck technique rather than the two-flap technique also resulted in increased surgical complications. As a result, we have abandoned the use of the vomer flap with primary lip repair.

Recovering the personal identity of an elderly patient with cleft lip: a case report

Instances of unoperated cleft lip and/or palate (CLP) in adult or elderly patients are still seen in developing countries. This paper presents the multidisciplinary management and the personal identity revival of a 72-year-old patient with unoperated unilateral complete cleft lip. The facial deformity was characterized by a protrusion of the excess of orbicularis oris muscle, irregularities of the upper lip, nose distortion, and septum deviation to the cleft side. The patient was edentulous with the maxillary alveolar ridge collapsed and an associated fistula. The cleft lip was repaired using the Tennison-Randall technique and complete dentures were delivered after the oroantral fistula had been closed. The patient was very pleased with the improvement in speech and eating and she approved of her facial esthetics. The existence of unoperated oral clefts in the elderly population highlights the need to improve policies in treating patients with CLP, mainly in developing countries.

Speech outcome after early repair of cleft soft palate using Furlow technique

OBJECTIVE

The earlier closure of palatal cleft is the better the speech outcome and the less compensatory articulation errors, however dissection on the hard palate may interfere with facial growth. In Furlow palatoplasty, dissection on the hard palate is not needed and surgery is usually limited to the soft palate, so the technique has no deleterious effect on the facial growth. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of Furlow palatoplasty technique on the speech of young infants with cleft soft palate.

METHODS

Twenty-one infants with cleft soft palate were included in this study, their ages ranged from 3 to 6 months. Their clefts were repaired using Furlow technique. The patients were followed up for at least 4 years; at the end of the follow up period they were subjected to flexible nasopharyngoscopy to assess the velopharyngeal closure and speech analysis using auditory perceptual assessment.

RESULTS

Eighteen cases (85.7%) showed complete velopharyngeal closure, 1 case (4.8%) showed borderline competence, and 2 cases (9.5%) showed borderline incompetence. Normal resonance has been attained in 18 patients (85.7%), and mild hypernasality in 3 patients (14.3%), no patients demonstrated nasal emission of air. Speech therapy was beneficial for cases with residual hypernasality; no cases needed secondary corrective surgery.

CONCLUSION

Furlow palatoplasty at a younger age has favorable speech outcome with no detectable morbidity.

A study of cleft lip/palate in a community in the South East of Ghana

The previous study in Wudoaba villages suggested that cleft lip and cleft palate (CL/CP) may be endemic in the Wudoaba cluster of villages in the Ketu South District of the Volta Region in South East Ghana. The study was to detect the prevalence of CL/CP in the Wudoaba communities and to investigate the factors associated with the causes of this malformation in the area. Two different interview-based questionnaires were designed to collect data over a period of 3 days from March 27 to 29, 2006. A purposive and accidental random sampling technique was used in the administering of the various questionnaires to the respondents. Data collected were recorded and analyzed with SPSS version 17.0. A total 99 respondents, with a mean age of 55.0 years, were interviewed. Out of it, 57.6% (n = 57) were related to their spouses: 54 first cousins and three other family relations. The prevalence of CL/CP is at least 6.3 per 1,000 people (i.e., 25/4,000). Majority (56.0%, n = 14) of the cleft cases were unilateral. Interviews revealed that genetic homogeneity and vitamin deficiencies in this community may be a causal factor for the high prevalence of CL/CP. This community provides clues suggesting that the magnitude of CL/CP may be larger than other studies and identifies the Wudoaba population as one that could be further studied to explore the underlying factors causing this congenital malformation.