Modified surgical procedure for velopharyngeal closure in adults: a preliminary report.
A surgical approach to effect velopharyngeal closure in adults is presented. The three fundamental principles of the procedure are: the complete release of the palatal flap to allow its attachment to the posterior pharyngeal wall without tension; the coaptation of the pharyngeal flap deep into the posterior margin of the velum, with a short and superior based pharyngeal flap that provides a good base for velopharyngeal contact; and the swallow tail division of the pharyngeal flap to form 3 fissural communications between the nasal and oral cavities to maintain physiologic functions. The approach has been applied to eight patients, seven of whom showed no evidence of relapse.
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D000328:Adult; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000534:rehabilitation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008722:Methods; D010156:Palatal Muscles / Q000601:surgery; D014681:Velopharyngeal Insufficiency / Q000601:surgery*