title: Palatal fistulas: rare with the two-flap palatoplasty repair.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the palatal fistula rate after repair with the two-flap palatoplasty technique. This is a retrospective review of 119 consecutive cleft-palate repairs performed over a 5-year interval by a single surgeon. The two-flap palatoplasty technique was used to provide tension-free, multilayer repairs. The age of these children at the time of repair ranged from 7 to 84 months (mode, 9 months). The initial follow-up visit occurred 2 to 12 weeks after the repair operation (mean, 4 weeks). The postoperative follow-up duration ranged from 7 to 48 months. This review of 119 cleft-palate repairs revealed a fistula rate of 3.4 percent (four fistulas in 119 repairs). This experience demonstrates the lowest reported palatal fistula complication rate with use of the two-flap palatoplasty technique.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic Surgery, University of Texas Medical Branch, 77555-0724, USA.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Wilhelmi
authors.forename: E A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Appelt
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Blackwell
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016155:Oral Fistula / Q000601:surgery*; D010159:Palate / Q000601:surgery; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000601:surgery*; D012086:Reoperation; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013536:Suture Techniques