Velopharyngeal insufficiency in the facio-auriculo-vertebral malformation complex

Twenty-two patients with the Facio-Auriculo-Vertebral Malformation Complex (hemifacial microsomia) were examined with multi-view videofluoroscopy and nasopharyngoscopy at rest and during speech. Fifty-five per cent of the subjects had velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) and hypernasal speech. Only two of these 12 subjects had cleft palate. VPI was related to structural and physiological asymmetry of the pharynx. No relationship was found between the severity of facial malformation and the presence of VPI.