Repair of large, anterior palatal fistulas using thin tongue flaps: Long-term follow-up of 10 patients

Anteriorly based, thin tongue flaps were used in 10 patients to close large , anterior palatal fistulas, All 10 flaps (100%) survived, and complete clo sure was obtained in all patients, with the exception of a recurrent fistul a that occurred in 1 patient during maxillary expansion (10%), Another pati ent (10%) demonstrated postoperative bleeding that required formal hemostas is under general anesthesia. No other complications were encountered, The r esults of this series indicate that the tongue flap is a safe technique for closure of large, anterior palatal fistulas, This thin, long flap is also reliable for orthodontic maxillary expansion.