A preliminary report of cleft palate repair by rotation and advancement of full thickness soft palate

Objective To introduce a new method of functional cleft palate repair.Methods Square flap A and triangular flaps B,C,D were designied on the each sides of defect at soft palate. They were advanced and rotated, each flap was inserted to the opposite side and then sutured. The lavator veli (LV) muscle was detached and sutured to reconstruct the steady LV muscle sling. Results This method was applied in 37 cases with satisfactory results of extending the soft palate, forming the dynamic soft palate muscular sling, and achieving velopharyngeal closure (VPC) 31 cases were floow ed up for half year to 2 years, the effects of operation are stable. Conclusions This method not only close the cleft but also restore the soft palate's function of elevating and pushing back to achieve the ideal VPC.