Different Surgical Approaches to the Treatment of Cleft Palate Fistulae as Perceived by Cleft Surgeons

Abstract

Objective Palatal fistulas after palatoplasty could pose difficulties for both patients and surgeons. Numerous surgical approaches are available to treat palatal fistulas. In this manuscript, we investigate surgical treatment options for palatal fistula repair looking at the different anatomical locations, and we create a summary of surgical approaches to facilitate the decision-making process for palatal fistulae repair. Design In this cross-sectional survey, nine anonymized patient cases with palatal fistulae that differed in severity and anatomical location were presented to participants from the International Cleft Master Course in Amsterdam about “Palatal Fistulas”. Participants were invited to participate in this survey. A total of 141 participants reported their preferred surgical treatment options for fistula repair at different anatomical locations. Results We created different options for fistula treatment, catalogued by fistula location. This overview gives the surgeon possible approaches for each location. If the soft palate is involved, this overview underscores the importance of including velopharyngeal insufficiency management into the fistula repair. For hard palate involvement, our overview lists techniques available for nasal lining repair and for oral lining repair in each region. Conclusions We provide a comprehensive overview of potential surgical approaches to repair palatal fistulae. This inventory of techniques is grouped per location to support surgeons in their decision-making process when confronted with a palatal fistula.