Background: Palatal lengthening by pushback with a pharyngeal flap is a commonly used operative technique for the treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency. The conventional Honig velopharyngoplasty uses full thickness mucoperiosteal flaps for the oral lining of the defect.
Purpose: A modification is described using only mucosal flaps, thus preserving the periosteum and the palatine arteries. Vascularisation of the hard palate is preserved and bone is not exposed, avoiding potential detrimental scar formation overlying the hard palate, which may affect normal outgrowth of the maxilla.
Study design: Eight patients with persisting hypernasality were included. Velopharyngeal closure was evaluated by nasendoscopy, nasometry and a Dutch speech test for cleft patients.
Results: Hypernasality was corrected in all cases. One patient developed a light hyponasality. In four patients the overall speech normalised and in the remaining four cases small errors persisted, but speech was well understandable.
Conclusion: The procedure yields satisfactory speech results in this preliminary study, comparable to the conventional Honig velopharyngeaplasty. Long term follow up regarding maxillary growth and comparative studies with other operative techniques are now warranted.