Submucous cleft palate and the general practitioner

Submucous cleft palate refers to a situation where the soft palate is largely composed of mucosa with little or no muscle. The defect is often not obvious on inspection of the mouth and pharynx. There is considerable clinical variation, with speech ranging from normal or minimal nasality to severe nasality and defective articulation. Many patients who have latent submucous cleft palate have the condition unmasked by an adenoidectomy because the adenoid pad had served as a compensatory factor in effecting palatopharyngeal closure. All physicians who perform tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy should be aware of the signs and symptoms which may suggest the diagnosis.