Influence of early closure of soft palatal clefts on the pharyngeal skeleton: observation by CT scan.

According to the literature (Schweckendiek, 1955; Malek and Psaume, 1983), early closure of the soft palate is a factor in the development of better phonation. The reason for this favorable outcome is not yet known with any certainty. One of the factors may be the volume of the epipharynx, which depends on the distance between the pterygoid processes and their orientation in space. The measurement of the interpterygoid distance, the calculation of the pterygomandibular index, and the measurement of the pterygoid abduction angle, all by means of computerized tomography (CT) scanning, show that early closure of the soft palate results in significant reduction of the interpterygoid distance and in total correction of the divergence of the pterygoid processes.