Vomer flap for hard palate repair is related to favorable maxillary growth in unilateral cleft lip and palate

Abstract

These findings may improve treatment outcome by modifying the treatment protocol for patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate.

The efficacy of vomer flap for closure of hard palate during primary lip repair

“…One group, however, reported an increased incidence of fistula formation after vomeroplasty, and that this treatment modality was abandoned due to their findings. 20 We experienced a 9.1% complication rate after palatoplasty with previous vomer repairs. Both von Langenbeck repairs and the failure of previous vomer flaps were linked to the incidence of surgical complications in this study.…”

“…19 There is exhaustive literature on the use of vomer flaps and the effect on growth. Some investigators have shown favourable growth, 10,20,21 while some have shown adverse or no significant difference when vomer flap was used for the early closure of the hard palate. 6,7,22 The rationale for using the vomer flap is to minimize scar formation by preventing extensive elevation of sub-periosteal flaps and the use of relaxing incisions.…”

“…Most of the reported cases on the use of vomer with favourable growth outcomes are from the developed world, where presurgical orthopaedics is extensively practised. 20,26 Furthermore, in most of the studies, both the lip and palate surgeries were done before 1 year of age. In most cleft centres catering to the developing world, there are very few cases that report at an early age for cleft-palate repair.…”

Maxillary Growth in Cleft Lip and Palate Patients, With and Without Vomerine Flap Closure of the Hard Palate at the Time of Lip Repair

“…The use of a single layer VF, at the time of lip repair, has been considered to be particularly advantageous in terms of maxillary development and early separation of the nasal and oral cavities (Liao et al, 2014). The rationale for using a VF is to overcome the unfavorable results of scarring by minimizing the area of denuded palatal bone (Ganesh et al, 2015).…”

Patient and parent reported outcome measures in cleft lip and palate patients before and after secondary alveolar bone grafting

“…Since Dr Samuel Noordhoof founded our Center more than 3 decades ago, we have evaluated cleft lip/palate patients’ outcomes based on clinical lip morphology, [12] nasal morphology, [13–15] lip scar, [16] speech, [17] complication rates, [18] and facial growth. [19] All were clinical studies based on data from the perspective of clinicians. However, a patient's (and their parents’) own perception of their surgical or orthodontic treatment outcome(s) and impact on their quality of life is of great importance for research by a craniofacial team to be holistic and integrated.…”