The 'unrepairable' cleft palate may be described as one in which the width
of the cleft exceeds the sum of the widths of the palatal shelves. A report
of such a case is presented, and the technique used to repair the cleft us
ing bilateral buccinator musculomucosal flaps is described. It is offered a
s a suggested technique for the management of such cases in the future. (C)
1999 The British Association of Plastic Sugeons.