Cleft Palate Repair

Cleft palate repair is performed to allow for normal speech production, development, and social interactions. The goal of surgery is to restore the normal anatomic relationship of the tissues and muscles. The history of cleft palate repair has evolved from techniques that simply closed the mucosal layers to those that return the musculature of the palate to its normal anatomic position. A variety of techniques remain in common use today. This chapter reviews the relevant anatomy, preoperative and postoperative care, and the operative technique. The authors emphasize their preferred method of repair, the Furlow palatoplasty, and discuss in detail the steps for reconstruction of the hard and soft palate, with modifications as necessary to suit different cleft anatomy. Alternative techniques for cleft palate repair are reviewed in brief.