Pharyngeal flap surgery: protocols, complications, and outcomes at the University of Iowa

We sought to assess complication rates and speech outcomes in patients undergoing pharyngeal flap surgery. Study design and setting We conducted a retrospective chart and database review at a tertiary craniofacial center.

Eighty-seven patients were identified as having pharyngeal flaps between January 1990 and December 2000.

Complications were rare, with an overall rate of 3.4% for all children. Craniofacial database records were identified with a follow-up examination between 2 and 5 years. Forty-four patients were identified. Of this group, 81.8% demonstrated no evidence of hypernasality or mild hypernasality, and 84.1% demonstrated no evidence of hyponasality or only mild hyponasality. Preoperative and postoperative assessments showed a statistically significant difference in hypernasality at P < 0.001 with no significant difference in hyponasality.

Although sphincter pharyngoplasty procedures have gained a great deal of attention in the recent otolaryngologic literature, pharyngeal-flap procedures remain a valuable tool in the hands of surgeons dealing with velopharyngeal incompetence.