What We Do: Greater Palatine Medializing Foraminal Osteotomy for Repair of the Wide Cleft Palate.

Abstract

Wide cleft palates (>15-mm gap) present a number of challenges to the surgeon tasked with their repair ( Bardach, 1999 ). Eliminating the need for secondary surgery due to fistula formation can reduce additional anesthetic and scarring risks and optimize early speech development. Greater palatine foraminal osteotomy is a useful surgical adjunct that allows additional medial movement of oral mucoperiosteal flaps to aid in tension-free closure of the oral layer. We use a technique similar to that described by Seibert in 1995 with a few modifications. Closure of the nasal layer in these wide clefts can be achieved using a sphenoid flap, a technique recently published by our unit ( Khan et al, 2018 ).