Two cases of speech disorders caused by soft palate injuries lead to the following conclusions on speech assessment before and after pharyngeal flap operation and wearing a speech aid.
1. After the primary operation, complete nasopharyngeal closure was not obtained in two cases.
2. A patient who wore a speech aid at the age of fourteen and thirteen years after injury showed a better effect of wearing a speech aid.
3. Only a slight effect of wearing a speech aid was observed in a 54-year-old patient who had relatively good (+) mobility of the soft palate and pharyngeal lateral wall, but had incomplete nasopharyngeal closure continuously for as long as forty-one years.
4. In case 1 which exhibited a remarkable effect after pharyngeal flap operation, mobility of the soft palate and pharyngeal lateral wall was remarkably good (++). Further it was considered important that the patient wore a speech aid prior to the above-mentioned operation when he was 14 years old and his speech function was completely improved.
5. The speech condition of a patient suffering from acquired imcomplete nasopharyngeal closure after the age of learning speech mainly consisted of nasality and no severe articulation disorders were observed.
6. It was emphasized that treatments on acquired incompete nasopharyngeal closure due to soft palate injury should be given as early as possible from the standpoint of improving the nasopharyngeal closure function in the same way as the treatment of congenital cleft palate patients.
