Prevention and management of oronasal fistulas.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this article is to present the current opinion on the prevention and management of oronasal fistulas in cleft palate patients.

RECENT FINDINGS: Though cleft palate repair has seen numerous modifications and improvements, oronasal fistulas remain one of the most common complications of palatoplasty. There are various techniques available for preventing and managing this complication.

SUMMARY: Oronasal fistulas can be minimized by employing proper principles for palatoplasty. Once a fistula occurs, the repair technique should be appropriate for the fistula type. Oronasal fistula classifications, various repair techniques, tissue adjuncts, and biomaterials used in both the primary palate repair and oronasal fistula repair are discussed in this review.