Predictors of Speech Outcome in Posterior Pharyngeal Fat Graft Surgery for Velopharyngeal Insufficiency Management

An Evaluation of Autologous Fat Injection as a Treatment for Velopharyngeal Insufficiency: A Review and Integrated Data Analysis

BACKGROUND

Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) is a condition characterized by incomplete separation of the oral and nasal cavities during speech production, thereby leading to speech abnormalities and audible nasal emissions. Subsequently, this adversely impacts communication and potentially interpersonal social interactions. Autologous fat grafting (AFG) to the velopharynx, a minimally invasive technique, aims to improve oronasal separation by providing bulk and advancing the posterior pharyngeal wall toward the soft palate. Despite its potential, the relative novelty of AFG in treating VPI has resulted in reporting of inconsistent indications, varied surgical techniques, and mixed outcomes across existing literature.

METHODS

This systemic review examined the evidence of AFG for VPI treatment over the past decade (2013-2023). A thorough search across five electronic databases yielded 233 studies, with 20 meeting the inclusion criteria (e.g., utilized fat injection as their selected VPI treatment, conducted study in human subjects, did not perform additional surgical procedure at time of fat injection). Selected studies encompassed patient and surgical intervention characteristics, perceptual speech assessment (PSA) scores, gap sizes, nasalance measurements, and complications.

RESULTS

The majority of patients had a prior cleft palate diagnosis (78.2%), in which nasoendoscopy was the prevalent method for visualizing the velopharyngeal port defect. Fat harvesting predominantly occurred from the abdomen (64.3%), with an average injection volume of 6.3 mL across studies. PSA and subjective gap size scores were consistently higher preoperatively than postoperatively. PSA score analysis from seven studies revealed significant and sustained improvements postoperatively. Gap size score analysis from four studies demonstrated similar preoperative and postoperative differences. Complications were reported in 17 studies, yielding a 2.7% summative complication rate among 594 cases.

CONCLUSIONS

Autologous fat grafting has emerged as a minimally invasive, safe, and effective treatment for mild to moderate VPI. However, challenges remain because of variability in patient selection criteria, diagnostic modalities, and outcome measurements. This review underscores the need for randomized control trials to directly compare AFG with standard-of-care surgical interventions, providing more conclusive evidence of its clinical efficacy.

What We Learned from Performing the Inverse Malek Procedure to Repair Bilateral Cleft Lips and Palates: A Single-Center Retrospective Study

Background: This study reviews the surgical and functional outcomes of children diagnosed with a bilateral cleft lip and palate and treated by the same surgical team following specific surgical protocols 18 years after surgery and during the follow-up. Methods: Based on a single-center retrospective design, demographic and surgical data were gathered by the authors from international institutions. Most of the data were quantitative in nature, and descriptive statistical and non-parametric tests were employed for analysis. All children born with a bilateral cleft from 1982 to 2002 were considered. Children affected by a syndrome were excluded. Complications and speech results were the main items measured. Results: Thirty patients were selected; 73.3% were treated using the inverse Malek procedure, and 26.7% underwent a modified two-stage procedure. Seventy percent developed an oronasal fistula. An alveolar bone graft was performed in 83%, and 53.3% underwent Le Fort osteotomy. Thirty-six percent required a pharyngeal flap, with good speech results. The median number of times general anesthesia was used among all the interventions considered was 5.5 (4.25-6). Conclusions: This study presents the long-term results of using the inverse Malek procedure to treat children with a bilateral cleft lip and palate. It is shown that this is related to a high risk of developing a fistula, but has good long-term speech results.

A Master Mind Game Code Algorithm Approach to Help Surgical Decision-Making between Retropharyngeal Fat Grafting and Pharyngoplasty for the Treatment of Velopharyngeal Incompetence

Introduction Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) is a controversial pathology with many surgical options.

Objective To compare pharyngoplasty and retropharyngeal fat grafting and to build a prognostic tool to achieve perfect speech.

Methods Retrospective observational cohort study of 114 patients operated for VPI from 1982 to 2019 in a single tertiary center. The instrumental assessment was made using an aerophonoscope and nasofibroscopy. The variables sex, age, genetic syndromes, and type of diagnosis were analyzed with logistic regression model adjusted with propensity score. To generalize results and to build a surgical predictive tool, a marginal analysis concludes the study.

Results Among the patients (median [range] age 7 [4–48]), 63 (55.26%) underwent pharyngoplasty and 51 (44.74%) graft. The graft group had no complication, but it had a failure rate of 7.84%. The pharyngoplasty group had no failure, but one patient had postoperative obstructive sleep apnea. The marginal analysis demonstrated that age lower than 7 years, cleft lip and palate, absence of syndrome, and intermittent VPI were important predictive factors of good result regardless of surgical technique.

Conclusions Without a statistical demonstration of the superiority of pharyngoplasty over graft, and in the uncertainty of literature background, our perfect-speech patient profile represents an important tool for a postoperative forecast of results in which, like in the Master Mind game, every feature has to be considered not individually but as a pattern of characteristics whose association contributes to the outcome.

The current regenerative medicine approaches of craniofacial diseases: A narrative review

Craniofacial deformities (CFDs) develop following oncological resection, trauma, or congenital disorders. Trauma is one of the top five causes of death globally, with rates varying from country to country. They result in a non-healing composite tissue wound as they degenerate in soft or hard tissues. Approximately one-third of oral diseases are caused by gum disease. Due to the complexity of anatomical structures in the region and the variety of tissue-specific requirements, CFD treatments present many challenges. Many treatment methods for CFDs are available today, such as drugs, regenerative medicine (RM), surgery, and tissue engineering. Functional restoration of a tissue or an organ after trauma or other chronic diseases is the focus of this emerging field of science. The materials and methodologies used in craniofacial reconstruction have significantly improved in the last few years. A facial fracture requires bone preservation as much as possible, so tiny fragments are removed initially. It is possible to replace bone marrow stem cells with oral stem cells for CFDs due to their excellent potential for bone formation. This review article discusses regenerative approaches for different types of craniofacial diseases.

Split Buccal Fat Flap in Modified Furlow Palatoplasty: Surgical Technique and Early Result

SUMMARY

Encouraging results have been described for the use of pedicled buccal fat pad flap in primary cleft palate repair. This retrospective study describes the surgical technique and early results of a technical innovation utilizing the split buccal fat flaps in modified Furlow palatoplasty with small double-opposing Z-plasty. This technique introduces buccal fat tissue for coverage of lateral denuded palate surfaces to reduce the bone exposure and scar formation to potentially attenuate maxillary growth interference and for reinforcement of the palatal areas of high tension or with incomplete closure to decrease the risk of postoperative dehiscence and oronasal fistula formation. Consecutive nonsyndromic patients (n = 56) with cleft palate were treated with this method, all of whom demonstrated fast mucosalization of lateral palatal recipient regions within 3 weeks postoperatively and showed no fistula with 12 months' follow-up. Of 19 patients (33.9 percent) who underwent auditory-perceptual assessment, 15 (78.9 percent) had normal resonance. Surgeons could add this alternative surgical maneuver to their armamentarium during the primary palatoplasty, in which coverage of lateral surfaces and reinforcement with fat tissue in the anterior soft palate space are of paramount relevance.

CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Therapeutic, IV.

Autologous Fat Grafting in Velopharyngeal Insufficiency Gives Complete and Stable Speech Recovery in Patient Under 7 years

ABSTRACT

The authorspresent a retrospective observational cohort study of 47 French speaking consecutive patients treated with retropharyngeal wall filling with autologous fat graft from 2006 to 2019 in a single tertiary center, to assess with a long-term follow-up, the best tailored treatment to recovery speech for velopharyngeal insufficiency, and to stress the importance of early treatment with minimally invasive procedure with retropharyngeal wall fat grafting. In preoperative setting, a clinical and instrumental evaluation with aerophonoscope is completed by a palatal closure assessment with nasal endoscopy. All patients were classified according with Borel Maisonny score pre- and post-operatively. Sixty three fat injections were performed. In 4 cases a pharyngeal flap was performed after fat graft for an insufficient speech result. The authors had no complications. Patients with less than 7 years of age obtained a complete recovery of their velopharyngeal incompetence (P = 0.03) compared to older patients. In conclusion, the authors can state that this tailored surgical technique needs a multidisciplinary approach. Many variables can affect postoperative results: fat reabsorption, concurrently performed surgery, pattern of pharyngeal closure, hearing impairment. None of these factors affected our result. Early treatment plays a crucial role to achieve better results. Patients with less of 7 years showed a better result in this functional treatment.

Optimizing speech outcomes for cleft palate

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Cleft lip with or without palate is one of the most common pediatric birth anomalies. Patients with cleft palate often have speech difficulties from underlying anatomical defects that can persist after surgery. This significantly impacts child development. There is a lack of evidence exploring, which surgical techniques optimize speech outcomes. The purpose of this update is to report on recent literature investigating how to optimize speech outcomes for cleft palate.

RECENT FINDINGS

The two-flap palatoplasty with intravelar veloplasty (IVVP) and Furlow double-opposing Z-plasty has the strongest evidence for optimizing speech. One-stage palatal repair is favored at 10-14 months of age, while delays are associated with significant speech deficits. For postoperative speech deficits, there is no significant difference between the pharyngeal flap, sphincter pharyngoplasty, and posterior pharyngeal wall augmentation. Surgical management should be guided by closure pattern and velopharyngeal gap but few studies stratify by these characteristics.

SUMMARY

According to recent evidence, the two-flap palatoplasty with IVVP and Furlow palatoplasty result in the best speech. The pharyngeal flap, sphincter pharyngoplasty, and posterior pharyngeal wall augmentation are all viable techniques to correct residual velopharyngeal insufficiency. Future research should focus on incorporating standardized measures and more robust study designs.