Pharyngeal wall and soft palate motion after two common speech surgeries

• Published in: American journal of otolaryngology Vol. 43; no. 2; p. 103351
• Main Authors: Hassanzadeh, Tania, Mastacouris, Nicole C., Sie, Kathleen C.Y., Vecchiotti, Mark A., Scott, Andrew R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.03.2022; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Birth defects; Child; Child, Preschool; Cleft palate; Female; Furlow palatoplasty; Golding-Kushner Scale; Humans; Male; Mouth; Movement; Otolaryngology; Palate; Palate, Soft - surgery; Patients; Pharyngeal flap; Pharynx; Pharynx - surgery; Reliability; Reproducibility of Results; Retrospective Studies; Speech; Speech endoscopy; Surgery; Treatment Outcome; Velopharyngeal insufficiency; Velopharyngeal Insufficiency - surgery; Video; Young Adult; Furlow palatoplasty; Cleft palate; Pharyngeal flap; Golding-Kushner Scale; Speech endoscopy; Velopharyngeal insufficiency
• DOI: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2021.103351
• ISSN: 0196-0709

To assess how pharyngeal wall and soft palate motion are affected after two common interventions for velopharyngeal insufficiency. A retrospective observational study was performed. A database of patients who had undergone Furlow palatoplasty or pharyngeal flap surgery between 2011 and 2019 and had video-archived preoperative and postoperative nasopharyngoscopy recordings was created. Recordings were deidentified and randomized, with 5 randomly-selected videos duplicated to determine intra-rater reliability. The videos were scored by 3 experienced raters using a modified Golding-Kushner scale. Pre- and postoperative scores were compared using paired t-test. Inter- and intra-rater reliability were estimated using intra-class correlation (ICC). There were 17 patients who met inclusion criteria. The mean age was 6.9 years (range 3–22 years, 59% male). In the Furlow palatoplasty group (n = 9), an increase in left soft palate motion was noted postoperatively (t(8) = 2.71, p = 0.02). In the pharyngeal flap group (n = 8), increases in lateral pharyngeal wall motion (left: t(7) = 3.58, p = 0.008, right: t(7) = 3.84, p = 0.006) and right soft palate motion (t(6) = 2.49, p = 0.04) were identified. Intra-rater reliability and inter-rater agreement were lower than prior studies utilizing the Golding Kushner scale. Our results provide objective evidence that Furlow palatoplasty and pharyngeal flap surgeries achieve velopharyngeal closure by increasing movement at different anatomical sites. Palatal and pharyngeal wall motion observed during preoperative nasopharyngoscopy may influence a surgeon's choice of intervention.