A Study of Nasalance Change in Submucosal Type Cleft Palate Patients by Surgery

점막하 구개열 환자의 수술 전후 비음도 변화에 대한 연구

Submucosal type cleft palate is a kind of cleft palate. A submucosal cleft may result in shortening of the anteroposterior dimension of the hard or soft palates or both. The increased distance along with the lack of muscle connection in the soft palate usually accounts for the lack of palatopharyngeal function in patients with submucosal cleft. Resonance disorders which is found in cleft patients show hypernasality or hyponasality. Many cases of submucosal type cleft palate patients visit our clinics due to hypernasality. In this study, resonance disorders was evaluated through nasalance test. Experimental group was composed of submucosal type cleft palate patients. The patients were treated by a so-called combined therapy, i.e., operation and speech training. To observe the changing pattern by surgery, nasalance test was carried out one time before surgery and three times after surgery. Nasometer II was used as a examination. The questionaire was filled with single vowels & diphthongs. The mean nasalance score of the child was significantly lower than that of the adult at every vowel. An early age at operation (under 10 years) was that a better functional result was achieved with patients. The mean nasalance score of /i/ was highest and that of /a/ was the lowest. The result of corrective surgery in selected cases has achieved improvement in all cases. Hypernasality has been consistently diminished. he operation.