Velocardiofacial syndrome: analysis of phoniatric and other clinical findings

We present 18 children with velocardiofacial syndrome. A palatal or a submucous cleft was observed in 10 patients, while 8 had no cleft. Seven patients had minor anomalies in the CT scan, but their significance is unclear. These anomalies as well as structural cardiac malformations occurred more often in the non-cleft patients. Cleft palate and velopharyngeal insufficiency were not the only causes of speech problems in these children. In the velocardiofacial syndrome speech disorder should be recognized and carefully analyzed with phoniatric and neuropsychological methods.