Abstract
We have performed two-stage palatoplasty for patients with cleft lips and palates in the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Clinic of Niigata University Medical and Dental Hospital since 1983. As a result of evaluating maxillary growth, we have changed the timing of hard palate closure from 5.5 years of age to 4 years of age since 2010. To validate the earlier hard palate closure in our two-stage procedure, we evaluated speech outcome at 4, 5, and 6 years of age. At 5 years of age, the cases with good velopharyngeal function increased significantly and the palatalized articulation was significantly reduced due to the earlier hard palate closure. Based on an evaluation of maxillary growth and speech outcome together, we conclude that earlier hard palate closure is reasonable for our two-stage procedure.
