The effects of increased nasal airway resistance on modeled velopharyngeal orifice area estimation

Research has shown that cleft lip and palate individuals have higher nasal airway resistance than normal subjects (Warren, Duany, and Fischer, 1969). The present work examined the predictive nature of modeled velopharyngeal orifice area calculations obtained using the hydrokinetic equation (Warren and DuBois, 1964) under conditions simulating increased degrees of nasal obstruction. The results of this project suggested that Warren's hydrokinetic method can be used to obtain accurate estimates of velopharyngeal orifice area under conditions of increased nasal airway resistance when airflow rates are nonvariant.