title: Role of tongue flap in palatal fistula repair: A series of 41 cases.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite the improved techniques of repair of cleft palate, fistula occurrence is still a possibility either due to an error in the surgical technique or due to the poor tissue quality of the patient. Though commonly the fistula closure is established by use of local flaps but at times the site and the size of the fistula make use of local flaps for its repair a remote possibility. The use of tongue flaps because of the central position in the floor of the mouth, mobility and the diversity of positioning the flaps make it a method of choice for closure of anterior palatal fistulae than any other tissues. The aim of this study was to analyse the utility of tongue flap in anterior palatal fistula repair.
  
  
  METHODS
  We had 41 patients admitted to our hospital during the period 2006-2012 for repair of palatal fistula and were enrolled into the study. In the entire 41 cases, fistula was placed anteriorly. The size of the fistulae varied from 2 cm × 1.5 cm to 5.5 cm × 3 cm. The flaps were divided after 3-week and final inset of the flap was done.
  None of the patients developed flap necrosis, in one case there was the dehiscence of the flap, which was reinset and in one patient there was bleeding. None of our patients developed functional deformity of the tongue. Speech was improved in 75% cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Leaving apart its only drawback of two-staged procedure and transient patient discomfort, tongue flap remains the flap of choice for managing very difficult and challenging anterior palatal fistulae.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, Maxillofacial and Cosmetic Surgery, Amandeep Hospital, Amritsar, Punjab, India.
authors.forename: Ravi Kumar
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Mahajan
authors.affiliation: Department of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, Index Institute of Dental Sciences, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Rahul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chhajlani
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, Maxillofacial and Cosmetic Surgery, Amandeep Hospital, Amritsar, Punjab, India.
authors.forename: Harish C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Ghildiyal
keywords: Anteriorly based tongue flap; anterior palatal fistula; cleft lip repair; cleft palate repair; hyper nasality; speech