Voice Quality in Adults Treated for Unilateral Cleft Lip and Palate: Long-Term Follow-Up After One- or Two-Stage Palate Repair.

OBJECTIVES

The aim of the current study was to assess voice quality among adults treated for unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), after one- or two-stage palate closure, and compare it to a noncleft control group.

STUDY

DESIGN

Cross-sectional study of patients with UCLP with long-term follow-up and noncleft controls.

PARTICIPANTS

Patients with UCLP born between 1960 and 1987, treated at Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden, were examined (n = 73) at a mean of 35 years after primary surgery. Forty-seven (64%) patients had been treated with 1-stage palate closure and 26 with 2-stage closure (36%). The noncleft control group consisted of 63 age-matched volunteers.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Ratings of perceptual voice characteristics from blinded voice recordings with Swedish Voice Evaluation Approach method. Acoustic voice analysis including pitch and spectral measures.

RESULTS

Among the patients, the mean values for the 12 evaluated variables on a visual analog scale (0 = no abnormality, 100 = maximal abnormality) ranged between 0.1 and 17, and the mean for all was 6 mm. Voice variables were similar between patients and controls, except the total mean of all the perceptual voice variables, as well as "vocal fry"; both slightly lower among patients ( P = .018 and P = .009). There was no difference in any variable between patients treated with 1-stage and 2-stage palate closure. No clear relationship was found between velopharyngeal insufficiency and dysphonia.

CONCLUSIONS

The voice characteristics among adults treated for UCLP in childhood are not different from those of individuals without cleft.