THE STRENGTH OF VELOPHARYNGEAL CLOSURE

• Published in: Journal of Japanese Cleft Palate Association Vol. 2; no. 2; pp. 21 - 26
• Main Authors: Goto, Tomonobu, Mimura, Tamotsu, Miyazaki, Tadashi, Motomura, Taichiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: Japanese Cleft Palate Association 25.12.1977
• ISSN: 0386-5185; 2186-5701
• DOI: 10.11224/cleftpalate1976.2.2_21

This study was undertaken to clarify the strength of velopharyngeal closure during phon ation, blowing and swallowing. Then, we made to compare the strength in cleft palate patients with in normals. Subjects were composed of 10 normals and 9 cleft palate patients. Cleft palate patients were divided into two groups according to the fiberscopic findings; A-group with the complete velopharyngeal closure during blowing and B-group with incomplete one. The measurement of the strength was made in speech, blowing and swallowing by using the balloon catheter which was inserted to vel opharyngeal port with transnasal approach. In normals, velopharyngeal closure was the strongest in hard blow ing, then in pressure consonants, finally in vowels. The strength in swallowing was almost as equal as in hard blowing. Cleft palate patients had a weak velopharyngeal closure. But A-group showe d a differentiated velopharyngeal closure as same as in normals. The results suggest that velophar yngeal function is distinguished in various actions after the complete closure, and that cleft palate patients are inferior to normals even though they had got the complete velopharyngeal closure.