title: Frequency of pharyngoplasty after primary repair of cleft palate in northern Finland.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  One measure of primary cleft palate repair success is the subsequent need for secondary pharyngoplasty due to velopharyngeal insufficiency. This study aimed to assess primary palatoplasty outcomes and frequency of secondary pharyngoplasty.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 138 patients underwent palatoplasty between 1998 and 2011. All patients were treated with 1-stage palatoplasty closing the hard and soft palate concurrently.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall frequency of pharyngoplasty after palatoplasty was 21% of patients. The rate of secondary surgery was significantly higher for girls (27%) than for boys (13%). Patients with cleft lip and palate were more likely to require secondary pharyngoplasty (24%) than the patients with soft and hard cleft palate (20%). Surgical technique and cleft severity were significant factors for secondary surgery. Pharyngoplasty was least common in patients whose palatal clefts were treated at 9 to 12 months of age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of patients undergoing primary palatal repair do not need secondary pharyngoplasty.
authors.affiliation: PhD candidate, Institute of Dentistry, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Riitta H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Lithovius
authors.affiliation: Director of Cleft Lip and Palate Program, Oulu University Hospital, Institute of Dentistry, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland.
authors.forename: Leena P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Ylikontiola
authors.affiliation: Professor of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Oulu; Consultant, Oulu University Hospital; Professor of Tissue Engineering, BioMediTech, Institute of Biomedical Technology, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland. Electronic address: george.sandor@uta.fi.
authors.forename: George K B
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Sándor
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005387:Finland; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D021362:Palate, Hard / Q000601:surgery; D010160:Palate, Soft / Q000601:surgery; D010614:Pharynx / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014681:Velopharyngeal Insufficiency / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery*