title: Posteriorly based lateral tongue flap for reconstruction of large palatal-alveolar fistulas in cleft patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Large palatal fistula in cleft patients is a difficult situation, especially with previous multiple surgeries, which have led to severe scars in the palatal mucosa. Tongue flaps are useful aids in such situations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seven cleft patients who were reconstructed by posteriorly based lateral tongue flap between 2005 and 2012 were studied. Variables such as flap-ability to close the fistula, remaining tongue shape at least 1 year after operation, and speech improvement (patients' self-assessment) were evaluated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Age range of the patients was 14‒45 years. The male-to-female ratio was 2/7. Posteriorly based lateral tongue flap effectively closed the large fistula in 6/7 of patients. The largest dimensions of fistula closed by this flap was 5 cm × 1.5 cm. Follow-up of 2‒7 years showed that the tongue never returned to the original size and remained asymmetrical. In addition, the nasal speech did not improve dramatically after the closure of large palatal/alveolar fistulas in this age group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Posteriorly based lateral tongue flap is an effective method to solve the problem of large palatal fistulas in adult cleft patients. The most useful indication for this flap is a large longitudinal palatal fistula, extending to the alveolar process. Asymmetrical tongue shape after surgery is the rule and speech improvement depends on patient's age and location of fistula.
authors.affiliation: Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases Research Center, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Amin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rahpeyma
authors.affiliation: Dental Research Center, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
authors.forename: Saeedeh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khajehahmadi
keywords: Palatal fistula; reconstruction; tongue flap