Frequency of Oronasal Fistulae in Complete Cleft Palate Repair

Objective: To determine the frequency of oro-nasal fistula in patients undergoing complete cleft palate repair by two flap-palatoplasty. Study Design: Case series. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Plastic Surgery, Services Hospital, Lahore, from January to December 2013. Methodology: Patients admitted to the study place for repair of cleft palate after informed consent obtained were included. Cleft palate was repaired by two-flap palatoplasty, using Bardach technique. Patients were discharged on the second post-operative day and followed-up at third week postoperatively. During follow-up visits, fistulae formation and their sites were recorded on pre-designed proforma. Results: Among the total 90 patients, 40 patients (44.4%) were male and 50 patients (55.6%) were female. The mean age was 6.4 +/- 5.7 years, ranging from 9 months to 20 years. At third week follow-up, 5 patients (5.6%) had fistulae formation. Four patients (80%) had anterior fistulae and one patient (20%) had posterior fistula. Conclusion: With two-flap palatoplasty Bardach procedure for repair of cleft palate, the complication of fistula formation was uncommon at 5.6%, provided the repair was tension free and multi-layered.