Surgical treatment of cleft palate. 27 years' experience of the Wardill-Kilner technique.
During the period 1958-1985, 230 patients with cleft palate were operated on in the Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Göteborg, Sweden. A modified push-back technique according to Wardill and Kilner was used. The children were operated on at a mean age of 13 months. They were divided into two groups, the first in which the cleft affected the velum only (n = 121) and the other in which it also affected the hard palate (n = 109). Postoperative dehiscences and fistulas occurred in 19 (8%) patients, of which 16 (15%) belonged to the group in which the cleft affected the hard palate. Only three (2%) of the 121 patients with a cleft in the soft palate only developed dehiscences. The total number of patients who had to be reoperated on because of dehiscences were 10 (4%) and palatopharyngeal flaps had to be performed in 25 patients (11%) because of speech problems.
Elander
A
A
Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Göteborg, Sweden.
Lilja
J
J
Friede
H
H
Persson
E C
EC
Lohmander-Agerskov
A
A
Söderpalm
E
E
D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D012086:Reoperation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013518:Surgery, Plastic / Q000379:methods; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013529:Surgical Wound Dehiscence / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome