Summary
The objective of the study was to identify patterns of velopharyngeal closure (CVF) in patients with Cleft Palate (PH) and cleft lip and palate (LPH) attending the Clinic of Comprehensive Attention of Patients with Cleft Lip and Palate (CAIPLPH) of the Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Unidad León (ENES, León). A cross-sectional study and convenience sample of 79 patients was carried out, including those aged between 4 and 10 years. The variables included were: CVF pattern, kind of cleft, the patient’s age and history of previous surgery for closure of the palatal cleft. Patients underwent clinical evaluation and nasofibroscopy by examiners previously standardized to know if there is a relationship between age and CVF pattern, between kind of cleft and pattern of CVF and a relationship between the pattern of CVF and patient’s history of previous surgery, using a X2 test bivariate square. Forty-six men and 33 women with a mean age 6.6 years were examined. Frequency patterns CVF: 8.86% coronal, sagittal 67.08%, circular 13.92% and a circular with Passavant ridge 10.12%. A statistically significant difference between the pattern of CVF and the kind of cleft (X2 = 53.93, p <0.001) was observed. The different ways in which the PH and LPH clefts can present influence the function of CVF as it can present a different pattern in each case. CVF pattern is unaffected by age or by the previous surgical closure.
KEY WORDS: velopharyngeal closure, cleft palate, cleft lip and palate.
How to cite this article
HERNÁNDEZ, R. M. P.; SÁNCHEZ, T. B.; DE LA FUENTE, H. J.; VILLANUEVA, V. M. C.; DÍAZ, A. J. A.; VILAR, P. G. & TENORIO, R. F. Pattern analysis of velopharyngeal closure in patients with cleft lip and palate. Int. J. Odontostomat., 9(3):385-391, 2015.
