title: Speech outcome regarding overall intelligibility, articulation, resonance and voice in Flemish children a year after pharyngeal flap surgery. A pilot study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The main purpose of this study is to determine the treatment effectiveness of pharyngeal flap surgery by measuring speech outcome 1 year after surgery. The authors hypothesized that flap surgery is an effective technique for velopharyngeal inadequacy resulting in improved intelligibility, decreased hypernasality and nasalance scores and normal voice characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Objective (Nasometer, Dysphonia Severity Index) as well as subjective (perceptual evaluations) assessment techniques were performed in 7 subjects. Speech evaluations were performed 1 year after flap surgery and comparison was made between the speech results of the preoperative condition (1 week before surgery) and the first postoperative condition (6 weeks after surgery).
  
  
  RESULTS
  After pharyngeal flap surgery there was improved though still slightly impaired intelligibility, with normal nasality, normal nasalance values for standard Flemish speech and normal voice characteristics. The normal nasality and nasalance values were not present in the preoperative condition. Persistence of the incorrect production of the thrill sound /r/ and the fricatives /s/ and /sch/ were observed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is likely that the slightly impaired speech intelligibility is determined by the presence of persistent articulation disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Speech and Language Pathology, Craniofacial Team, University Hospital Gent, Gent, Belgium. kristiane.vanlierde@ugent.be
authors.forename: Kristiane M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Van Lierde
authors.forename: Katrien
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bonte
authors.forename: Nele
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Baudonck
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Cauwenberge
authors.forename: Els M R
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: De Leenheer
mesh_terms: D000233:Adenoidectomy; D001530:Belgium; D002648:Child; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000601:surgery*; D055154:Dysphonia / Q000209:etiology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010614:Pharynx / Q000601:surgery*; D010699:Phonation; D010700:Phonetics; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013061:Speech Acoustics; D013062:Speech Articulation Tests; D013064:Speech Disorders / Q000601:surgery; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D014831:Voice / Q000502:physiology*; D014832:Voice Disorders / Q000601:surgery*