Soft Palate Mucosal Adhesion with Muscle Release: An Option in "Wide" Cleft Palates in a Cohort in Southern Africa.

Objective: Comparison of speech outcomes in 2 similar groups of "wide" cleft palate. One received a Furlow double-opposing Z- plasty (FZP) versus a group (non-FZP) that received only a muscle release at the second stage after both received a soft palate mucosal adhesion (SPA) at the first stage.

Methods: Retrospective review.

Autologous Fat Grafting for the Treatment of Mild to Moderate Velopharyngeal Insufficiency.

Background: To assess speech results following the treatment of mild to moderate velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) post cleft palate surgery with autologous fat grafting to the velopharynx.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 9 consecutive patients who underwent velopharyngeal fat grafting for the treatment of VPI at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's hospital from 2010 to 2014. All the patients previously had primary palatoplasty performed and subsequently developed VPI.

International practice of laryngectomy rehabilitation interventions: a perspective from South Africa.

Purpose Of Review: This review reflects on the experience of speech rehabilitation of laryngectomees at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town and expands on ways of dealing with the challenges that practising in a developing world setting presents.

Recent Findings: Postlaryngectomy speech rehabilitation is unavailable in most African countries because of a profound shortage of speech and language therapists, otolaryngologists, and trained head and neck surgeons, as well as fiscal limitations. This article presents our recent tracheoesophageal speech results; discusses the employment of early postlaryngectomy feeding, selection criteria for patients for tracheoesophageal speech, the choice of voice prosthesis, follow-up care of patients coming from afar; and presents the results of a comparative study of the efficacy of different methods of airway humidification.

Suprahyoid approach to base-of-tongue squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate the suprahyoid approach to treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the base of the tongue at Groote Schuur Hospital between 1999 and 2004.

Design And Method: Retrospective analysis was done of patients with base-of-tongue squamous cell carcinoma treated using the suprahyoid approach.

Results: Seventeen patients underwent treatment for base-of-tongue squamous cell carcinoma utilising the suprahyoid approach.

Tracheoesophageal speech in a developing world community.

Objectives: To determine the tracheoesophageal speech results in a Third World medical practice; to examine the impact of socioeconomic status, literacy, and proximity to specialist services on tracheoesophageal speech; to assess whether these factors should affect patient selection for fistula speech; and to determine guidelines for voice prosthesis selection.

Design: Retrospective analysis.

Setting: Groote Schuur Hospital, Cape Town, South Africa, which serves a Third World community.

Velopharyngeal incompetence after adenotonsillectomy in non-cleft patients.

This report discusses 15 non-cleft palate children who developed velopharyngeal incompetence (VPI) after adenotonsillectomy. Eight boys and 7 girls with a mean age of 6.2 years (range 4.

Postlaryngectomy voice restoration--a 2-year review.

We present a 2-year (1991/92) review of tracheo-oesophageal speech following total laryngectomy with tracheo-oesophageal fistula formation and subsequent use of a voicing prosthesis. Thirty-five primary fistulas and four secondary fistulas were created. Initially, 86% of patients obtained daily use of intelligible, fluent voice with few extraneous stomal sounds.

Speech results after repair of the cleft soft palate.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the speech results of five different techniques of repair of only the cleft soft palate and also to assess the effect of timing of repair on speech results. A total of 184 patients (73 males, 111 females) underwent either a Dorrance repair (25 patients), a Wardill repair (41 patients), a Perko repair (19 patients), a von Langenbeck repair (79 patients), or a Furlow Z-plasty (20 patients) between 1964 and 1989. Articulation, intelligibility, and resonance were assessed by usually two but at least one speech therapist.

Treatment of velopharyngeal incompetence by the Furlow Z-plasty.

Velopharyngeal incompetence occurs in approximately 25% of cases after primary palatoplasty. There is controversy regarding the best method of surgical management of velopharyngeal incompetence. Between 1986 and 1993, 13 children with velopharyngeal incompetence after primary palatoplasty underwent Furlow Z-plasty repair.