Pharyngoplasty after primary repair of clefts of the secondary palate.

Our aim was to identify factors associated with the incidence of pharyngoplasty in patients with clefts of the secondary palate (CP). We studied 351 children born between 1968 and 1999 with CP alone, who had their primary operation at the Department of Plastic Surgery, Rikshospitalet University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. Data were collected retrospectively from the archives of the Oslo Cleft Team. During the study period 1968-2007, 68 children (19%) had a pharyngoplasty to improve their speech. Mean follow up time from the primary operation was 16 years (range 2-37). The estimated incidence of pharyngoplasty at 5, 7, 10, and 15 years after the primary operation was 9%, 12%, 14%, and 15%, respectively. Thirty-one (46%) of the pharyngoplasties were done more than seven years after the primary palatal repair. Children with total clefts of the secondary palate had a pharyngoplasty more often than children with clefts of the soft palate alone (7 years incidence: 11 (42%) compared with 22 (10%), p<0.001). Sex, age at time of primary operation, and surgeon's experience were not significantly associated with the necessity for pharyngoplasty. Our study suggested that the necessity for pharyngoplasty is related to the severity of clefts, and duration of observation.