Long-term otologic status of older cleft palate patients

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of regular otologic care on the long-term outcome in patients with cleft palates. We report the otoscopic and audiologic findings of 50 patients who were followed regularly at our center for an average of 15.4 years. All these patients had their cleft palates repaired by the same surgical team and all ears were examined by one of the authors under the microscope and a chart review completed. Thirty eight patients had at least one tube placement. The physical abnormalities noted were tympanosclerosis (36%), retraction of tympanic membrane (TM) (20%), atrophy of TM (15%), perforation (11%), PE tube in situ (11%), thick TM (6%) and PE tube in middle ear (1%). The examination was normal in 36%. A conductive loss was noted in 18% and sensorineural loss in 3%. The results of this study support the concept of regular otologic care for cleft palate patients even when they are overtly asymptomatic.