No abstract

Background: Adult primary palatoplasty is more challenging tha n in infants because the gaps are wider. The risk ofintraoperative bleeding and palatal fistula are higher. Most adults with un-operated palatal cleft have good maxillary growth but poor speech. The aim of this study is to introduce our technique in repairing wide cleft palate in adult patients. Patients and Methods: We report four patients with cleft palate who underwent palatoplasty at adulthood. The age ranges from 17 to 20 years. Interspina distance were between 2 to 3.5 cm. All of them were nonsyndromic and had normal maxillary growth. The surgical technique used on these patients was two-flap palatoplasty with an additional 3 mm gingival bulk on the lateral side of the flap. Honey was given as oral drops postoperatively. Result: Lateral palatal defect healed well and epithelialized completely between 7 -14 days postoperative and only one small palatal fistula was found with this modified technique. All subjects had good maxillary growth, and speech outcome was poor to begin with.Summary: Two-flap palatoplasty can adequately provide palatal closure, especially with an additional lateral flap extension to include gingival components. This extension widens the flaps and aid palatal closure by not leaving lateral defects too wide.

Epithelioid hemangioma is a rare benign vascular tumor manifested as slow-growing subcutaneous or dermal nodules. A previously therapeutic strategy involved surgical excision and sclerotherapy. However, no standard treatment has been established. Here, we reported an atypical case of epithelioid hemangioma that had a locally aggressive behavior and was successfully treated with everolimus, a rapamycin analog used for cancer therapy. A 1-year-old boy presented with an ulcerated lump in the left palmar region. The imaging test results, confirmed through histopathologic examination, suggested a diagnosis of epithelioid hemangioma. Targeted therapy with everolimus was administered orally because of a minimal response to initial transarterial sclerotherapy. The patient achieved a satisfactory response with a significantly reduced lesion size and improved hand function after a 2-year follow-up. This finding showed that patients with locally aggressive forms of epithelioid hemangioma may significantly benefit from everolimus as a potential targeted therapy.