A Clinical Experience of Cleft Palate Repair Using Operative Microscope: Sommerlad’s Method

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to introduce the method of palate repair that combines minimal hard palate dissection and radical retropositiong of levator musculature, which was presented by Sommerlad. As this method presents, additional use of the operating microscope enables atraumatic and radical dissection, and it might provide more improved speech function to the patients. A total of 17 patients with cleft palate underwent Sommerlad’s method from December 2003 to August 2004. The mean follow-up period was 4.5 months. The use of a microscope provided high quality variable magnification and good illumination at the operating field. Repair was carried out through incisions at the margins of cleft with mucoperiosteal flap elevation. Muscles were rearranged and repaired properly. It was unable to evaluate the improvement of speech because the patients were too young to learn meaningful speech. Average operating time including anesthetic induction time, V-tube insertion and recovery from anesthesia was 2 hours 45 minutes which was not quite different from conventional method’s operating time. Oronasal fistula developed in 2 patients of them. One of them was healed spontaneously. As meticulous and radical muscle dissection was possible with Sommerlad’s method, we could minimize the trauma to the muscular and neurovascluar structure. In addition, we expect better faculty of speech as a result of this method although longer follow-up time was unavailable.