Does pharyngoplasty work? Outcomes of 100 consecutive operations over 10 years.

Background: Velopharyngeal insufficiency is a commonly encountered problem in Cleft Surgery, with pharyngoplasty being the mainstay of surgical management. In this study we aim to investigate the indications and outcomes of a single institution's experience and compare to international literature.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed looking at over 100 consecutive primary pharyngoplasty operations for velopharyngeal dysfunction over a 10-year period at a single institution.

Philtral Dermofascial Flap Reconstruction of Whistle Deformity.

The aim of this paper is to describe a technique that can be utilised for the targeted correction of the Whistle Deformity and accompanying upper lip subunits. All patients were post-primary cleft lip repair, either unilateral or bilateral cleft lips, with a resulting Whistle Deformity post-operatively. They all elected to undergo surgical correction of the Whistle Deformity using bilateral philtral dermofascial flaps to correct their Whistle Deformity.

Adult Cleft Palate Repair: It's Worth a Shot.

Repair of cleft palate in the adult population is controversial. We present a case of a 66-year-old woman who underwent secondary cleft palate repair. The patient was born with a cleft palate and at age 15 years underwent palate repair that subsequently broke down.

Presurgical unilateral cleft lip anthropometrics: implications for the choice of repair technique.

Background: It has been stated that height of the lateral lip is difficult to obtain with the rotation advancement repair only when the lateral lip is short in both its vertical and horizontal dimensions. The authors studied preoperative cleft lip anthropometry to determine the frequency of the "geometrically unfavorable lateral lip"--short in both vertical and transverse dimensions.

Methods: Direct caliper measurements were taken by a single observer of the heights and of the transverse lengths in 100 consecutive patients (age ≥3 months and <6 months) with unilateral cleft lip (51 complete and 49 incomplete) who were under general anesthesia just before cleft lip repair.

A prospective, blinded, randomized, controlled clinical trial of topical negative pressure use in skin grafting.

Topical negative pressure has been demonstrated to improve graft take in a number of noncomparative studies. This study aimed to assess whether split-thickness skin graft take is improved qualitatively or quantitatively with topical negative pressure therapy compared with standard bolster dressings. A blinded, prospective, randomized trial was conducted of 22 adult inpatients of Liverpool Hospital between July of 2001 and July of 2002 who had wounds requiring skin grafting.