Quantitative Evaluation of Palatal Lengthening After Cleft Palate Repair When a Buccal Flap Is Routinely Combined With Furlow's Z-Plasty.

Introduction: The use of a buccinator myomucosal flap in combination with Furlow's Z-plasty during primary and secondary palatal repairs has been proposed by many authors to overcome some of the limitations of Furlow's technique. However, there have been no studies that quantitatively measured the effective palatal lengthening when the buccal flap is added.

Patients And Methods: The buccal flap is routinely used during primary palate repair in order to fill the gap between the hard palate and reoriented palatal muscle sling.