title: Treatment of submucous cleft palate with selective use of the Furlow Z-palatoplasty.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Submucous cleft is an uncommon entity that can be complicated by functional abnormalities, specifically velopharyngeal incompetence (VPI), secondary to abnormal palatal muscular insertion. This study aims to characterize our experience using the Furlow Z-palatoplasty for the treatment of VPI in patients with submucous clefts.
  
  
  METHODS
  A retrospective chart review was conducted looking at 24 patients diagnosed with symptomatic submucous clefts between 2000 and 2007 at Children's Hospital of New Orleans. Demographics such as age, gender, diagnosis, need for surgical correction, type of operation, complications, presence of genetic syndromes, need for secondary surgery, and need for myringotomy tubes were examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average age at initial surgery for the entire study population was 6.2 years. The success rate of our Furlow procedure was 66.7%, with 33.3% requiring secondary pharyngeal flaps. The genetic syndromic patient population had an average age at initial surgery of four years and experienced a lower primary success rate of 50%. The non-syndromic patient population had an average age at initial surgery of 7.3 years, with an 85.7% primary success rate.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data supports the notion that Furlow Z-palatoplasty is an effective procedure in the treatment of submucous cleft palate with VPI, frequently without the need for secondary surgical procedures in the majority of patients, particularly those patients without syndromes.
authors: Children's Hospital of New Orleans, Division of Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery.
authors: Michael H
authors: MH
authors: Moses
authors: Louisiana State University Division of Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery.
authors: Mark W
authors: MW
authors: Stalder
authors: Tulane University School of Medicine.
authors: David T
authors: DT
authors: Pointer
authors: Tulane University School of Medicine.
authors: Ryan
authors: R
authors: Wong
authors: Louisiana State University Division of Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery.
authors: Charles L
authors: CL
authors: Dupin
authors: Louisiana State University Division of Plastic and Reconstruction Surgery.
authors: Hugo
authors: H
authors: St Hilaire
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002972:Cleft Palate / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D055820:New Orleans; D012189:Retrospective Studies