Submucous clefts of the palate: how likely are they to be symptomatic?

A group of 130 patients with submucous clefts were identified from the records of the University of Pittsburgh Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Center. Many of these patients, 44 percent, remained asymptomatic into adulthood, and none required surgical intervention. A submucous cleft should be repaired in infancy only when feeding problems or unremitting ear disease is observed. The cleft should not be repaired on the theoretical basis of the potential effect of the cleft on the development of communication skills. The development of predictors that will enable professionals' valid management decisions must be developed.