A technique for one stage repair of complete palatal cleft.

A technique for repairing in one stage, wide complete palatal cleft of congenital origin with obvious shortening of the soft palate, is described. Mucoperiosteal flaps were obtained from vomer bone and palate while muco-muscular flap from posterior pharyngeal wall by means of a simple technique. A layer closure was used to fill in the palatal defect. This technique was used successfully in 24 out of 25 cases, with a mean follow-up of 2 years. When fully healed, the palate attained a normal shape and function.