Middle ear findings and need for ventilation tubes among pediatric cleft lip and palate patients in northern Finland.

Purpose: Middle ear problems are common in cleft patients. This study aimed to determine the need for ventilation tubes (VTs) and complications such as tympanic perforation and cholesteatoma.

Material And Methods: Data of 156 children with clefts managed in northern Finland spanning 15 years from 1997 to 2011 were collected from 6 hospitals.

The association of cleft severity and cleft palate repair technique on hearing outcomes in children in northern Finland.

Background: The consequences of cleft lip and palate include scaring, dental malformations, tooth misalignment, speech problems, and hearing loss. Otitis media with effusion causing hearing loss is a problem for many cleft palate patients.

Methods: This study examines the association among cleft severity, palate repair technique, and hearing outcomes in children from northern Finland with clefts, aged 3-9 years.

Incidence of palatal fistula formation after primary palatoplasty in northern Finland.

Objective: The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine the incidence of palatal fistulas after primary cleft palate repair.

Study Design: The study included 136 patients who were treated at the Oulu University Hospital cleft lip and palate center between 1998 and 2011. All patients were treated by the same surgeons with 1-stage palatoplasty closing the hard and soft palate concurrently.

Frequency of pharyngoplasty after primary repair of cleft palate in northern Finland.

Objective: One measure of primary cleft palate repair success is the subsequent need for secondary pharyngoplasty due to velopharyngeal insufficiency. This study aimed to assess primary palatoplasty outcomes and frequency of secondary pharyngoplasty.

Study Design: A total of 138 patients underwent palatoplasty between 1998 and 2011.

A descriptive epidemiology study of cleft lip and palate in Northern Finland.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of cleft lip and/or cleft palate in a population uniquely from Northern Finland.

Materials And Methods: The records of a total of 214 cleft patients treated between 1998-2011 at the Oulu Cleft Lip and Palate Center at the University of Oulu were assessed on a retrospective basis. Data regarding cleft type, sex and side of cleft was collected and analyzed.