A method of "unilateral operation" for early repair of unilateral completecleft palate. Preliminary report

Objective: This article describes a method of "unilateral operation" and th e preliminary results of a group of patients with unilateral complete cleft palate undergoing the operation at early age. Design: The "unilateral operation" consists of four relaxation maneuvers. A fter all of the four maneuvers have been performed on the deformed side of an unilateral complete cleft palate, the deformed side can be moved posteri orly and medially to contact with the normal side. Then the cleft can be cl osed without tension. Results: From 1995 to 1998, 19 cases of unilateral complete cleft palate we re repaired with this method at 5-12 months of age. Postoperatively, there were no deaths nor dehiscences. Under the care and guidance of an experienc ed speech pathologist, 15 of 17 of these children have normal vocal quality at 1-2 years of age. Conclusions: The "unilateral operation" is a rational, adequate, and safe m ethod for early repair of unilateral complete cleft palate. it's design add resses four principles. First, operating only on the deformed side of a uni lateral complete cleft palate leaves the normal side unperturbed. Second, c omplete relaxation of the deformed side is achieved before closing the clef t. Third, in comparison with conventional procedures, which operate on both sides of the palate, this method has the advantage of less surgical trauma , less blood loss, and shorter time of operation. Fourth, all of these adva ntages are beneficial to early cleft palate repair, which is an important f actor in achieving good speech.