Cleft Palate

Abstract

It was Kilner who said, “Ask not for a spatula and torch to check your cleft palate repair, but listen to your patient speak.” By this obvious but profound statement, he drew the cleft surgeons’ attention to the fact that gone are the days of breakdowns and fistulae and that if your child does not speak well, your operation is a failure, for such a child would be out of the mainstream of life forever. In spite of the advances in technique and execution, experienced cleft surgeons all over the world still struggle to obtain perfect speech in a large percentage of cases.