The effect of early versus late palate repair on pharyngeal airway volume in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate

Abstract

Context: Timing of surgical repair of cleft and its effect on volume of pharyngeal airway have not been investigated thoroughly. Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of timing of palate repair on pharyngeal airway in patients born with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP) using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Settings and Design: The design was a retrospective study. Subjects and Methods: The study was carried out on 20 surgically treated UCLP patients and 40 normal noncleft subjects with Class I skeletal relation within the age group of 7–14 years. Twenty UCLP subjects were further divided into two groups (early palatal repair n = 11 and late palatal repair n = 9) according to their age at which initial hard palate repair was performed. Forty normal noncleft subjects were included in the control group. Results: No significant difference was found in volume of nasopharynx, oropharynx, hypopharynx, total pharyngeal volume ( P = 0.83), and minimum axial area ( P = 0.90) of the pharynx between the groups. Conclusions: Using CBCT, this study found that there was no significant difference in the pharyngeal airway between early and late hard palatal surgery.