A comparison of three technics of palatorrhaphy: in-hospital morbidity

We report the first randomized prospective comparison of different techniques of palatorrhaphy. The in-hospital morbidity of the Wardill-Kilner repair (Group I), von Langenbeck repair (Group II), and von Langenbeck repair with superiorly based pharyngeal flap (Group III) was evaluated in 47 patients. There were no deaths. Transfusion was needed only in Group I patients (p less than 0.01). Postoperative airway obstruction was significantly more common in Group III patients than in Group I (0 per cent or II (6 per cent) (p less than 0.05). Thus the in-hospital morbidity was least following the von Langenbeck repair.