The Sommerlad–Furlow Modified Palatoplasty Technique: Postoperative Complications and Implicating Factors

Objective To explore the incidence of postoperative complications and investigate the impact of preselected factors on functional and quality of life outcomes following the Sommerlad – Furlow modified palatoplasty technique. Study Design Retrospective cohort. Methods A total of 429 patients with cleft palate, who received Sommerlad – Furlow modified technique between 2011–2017 were enrolled. The postoperative complications including oronasal fistula (ONF), velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI), and inadequate quality of life (QOL) were collected. Data of preselected factors including gender, age at palatoplasty, cleft type, cleft width, palatal width, pharyngeal cavity depth, and operation duration were also collected. Results Among 429 patients, 40.1% were males whereas 59.9% were females. The mean age at palatoplasty was 1.23 ± 0.69 (0.42–4) years, and the average cleft width was 10.15 ± 2.95 (4–27) mm. The cleft types had recorded rates of about 6.8%, 69.5%, 17.7%, and 6.1% of Veau I, II, III, and IV, respectively. The overall incidence rates of ONF, VPI, and inadequate QOL were 2.3%, 19.4%, and 31.3%, respectively. In both the univariate and multivariate analyses, the cleft type was significantly implicated in ONF formation ( p = 0.023 and 0.032, respectively) whereas the velopharyngeal function was impacted by the palatoplasty age ( p ˂ 0.001). The receiver operating characteristic curve indicated that age of palatoplasty ≥1.3 years (area under the curve = 0.611, p = 0.002) was the cutoff value for predicting the incidence of VPI. Conclusions The Sommerlad – Furlow modified technique appears to have appropriate postoperative outcomes, even in the wide cleft palate. The older age at palatoplasty has a major impact on the overall postoperative outcomes. Level of Evidence 4 Laryngoscope , 133:822–829, 2023