Velopharyngeal Configuration Changes Following Le Fort I Osteotomy With Maxillary Advancement in Patients With Cleft Lip and Palate: A Cephalometric Study.

Objective: To describe the morphological changes of velopharyngeal components in patients with cleft lip and palate after Le Fort I osteotomy with maxillary advancement and to clarify whether the velopharyngeal morphological changes are related to the distance of maxillary advancement. Design: Retrospective case series. Setting: Hospital and Stomatology Unit of Peking University, Beijing, China. Patients: A total of 47 patients with maxillary hypoplasia secondary to cleft lip and palate. Interventions: Le Fort I osteotomy combined with bilateral sagittal split ramus osteotomy and/or genioplasty for treatment of maxillofacial deformity. Main Outcome Measures: The lateral cephalometric radiographs with velum at rest (n = 47) and during phonation of /i/ (n = 17) were undertaken preoperatively (T1), 1 week postoperatively (T2), and at least 6 months postoperatively (T3). Some measure indices of velopharyngeal configuration were collected and analyzed. Results: The average maxillary advancement distance was 4....