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BACKGROUND: Because some patients with submucous cleft palate (SMCP) are asymptomatic, surgical treatment is conventionally delayed until hypernasal resonance is identified during speech production. We aim to identify whether speech outcomes after repair of a SMCP is influenced by age of repair. METHODS: We retrospectively studied nonsyndromic children with SMCP. Speech results, before and after any surgical treatment or physical management of the palate were compared using the Pittsburgh Weighted Speech Scoring system. RESULTS: Furlow palatoplasty was performed on 40 nonsyndromic patients with SMCP, and 26 patients were not surgically treated. Total composite speech scores improved significantly among children repaired between 3 and 4 years of age (P = 0.02), but not older than 4 years (P = 0.63). Twelve (86%) of 14 patients repaired who are older than 4 years had borderline or incompetent speech (composite Pittsburgh Weighted Speech Scoring ≥3) compared with 2 (29%) of 7 repaired between 3 and 4 years of age (P = 0.0068), despite worse prerepair scores in the latter group. Resonance improved in children repaired who are older than 4 years, but articulation errors persisted to a greater degree than those treated before 4 years of age (P = 0.01.) CONCLUSIONS: Submucous cleft palate repair before 4 years of age appears associated with lower ultimate rates of borderline or incompetent speech. Speech of patients repaired at or after 4 years of age seems to be characterized by persistent misarticulation. These findings highlight the importance of timely diagnosis and management.

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There is no clear consensus for the optimal treatment of sagittal craniosynostosis; however, recent studies suggest that improved neurocognitive outcomes may be obtained when surgical intervention imparts active cranial expansion or remodeling and is performed before 6 months of age. The authors consider spring-mediated cranioplasty (SMC) to optimally address these imperatives, and this is an investigation of how helmet orthoses before or after SMC affect aesthetic outcomes.The authors retrospectively evaluated patients treated with SMC and adjunct helmeting for sagittal synostosis. Patients were stratified into 4 cohorts based on helmet usage: preop, postop, both, and neither. The cephalic index (CI) was used to assess head shape changes and outcomes. Twenty-six patients met inclusion criteria: 6 (23%) had preop, 11 (42%) had postop, 4 (15%) had preop and postop, and 5 (19%) had no helmeting. Average age at surgery was 3.6 months. Overall, CI improved from a mean 69.8 to 77.9 during an average 7-month course of care. Mean preoperative change in CI showed greater improvement with preop helmet (1.3) versus not (0.0), (P = 0.029), despite similar initial CI in these cohorts (70.4 and 69.6 respectively, P = 0.69). Nonetheless, all patient cohorts regardless of helmeting status achieved similar final CIs (range 76.4-80.4; P = 0.72).In summary, preoperative molding helmet therapy leads to improved CI at the time of spring-mediated cranioplasty. However, this benefit does not necessarily translate into overall improved CI after surgery and in follow-up, calling into question the benefits of molding helmet therapy in this setting.

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BACKGROUND: Grading systems of the mandibular deformity in craniofacial microsomia (CFM) based on conventional radiographs have shown low interrater reproducibility among craniofacial surgeons. We sought to design and validate a classification based on 3-dimensional CT (3dCT) that correlates features of the deformity with surgical treatment. METHODS: CFM mandibular deformities were classified as normal (T0), mild (hypoplastic, likely treated with orthodontics or orthognathic surgery; T1), moderate (vertically deficient ramus, likely treated with distraction osteogenesis; T2), or severe (ramus rudimentary or absent, with either adequate or inadequate mandibular body bone stock; T3 and T4, likely treated with costochondral graft or free fibular flap, respectively). The 3dCT face scans of CFM patients were randomized and then classified by craniofacial surgeons. Pairwise agreement and Fleiss' κ were used to assess interrater reliability. RESULTS: The 3dCT images of 43 patients with CFM (aged 0.1-15.8 years) were reviewed by 15 craniofacial surgeons, representing an average 15.2 years of experience. Reviewers demonstrated fair interrater reliability with average pairwise agreement of 50.4 ± 9.9% (Fleiss' κ = 0.34). This represents significant improvement over the Pruzansky-Kaban classification (pairwise agreement, 39.2%; P = 0.0033.) Reviewers demonstrated substantial interrater reliability with average pairwise agreement of 83.0 ± 7.6% (κ = 0.64) distinguishing deformities requiring graft or flap reconstruction (T3 and T4) from others. CONCLUSION: The proposed classification, designed for the era of 3dCT, shows improved consensus with respect to stratifying the severity of mandibular deformity and type of operative management.

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BACKGROUND: The authors hypothesize that early posterior vault distraction osteogenesis safely confers considerable cranial vault remodeling, sufficient to enable fronto-orbital advancement to be delayed to a later age, with improved outcomes. METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study of children with syndromic craniosynostosis treated before (2003 to 2008) or after (2009 to 2014) implementation of posterior vault distraction osteogenesis. RESULTS: Sixty children with syndromic craniosynostosis presented during the study period. Forty met inclusion criteria with care continuity and complete records: 22 before and 18 after implementation of posterior vault distraction osteogenesis. Only 11 patients (61 percent) who underwent initial posterior vault distraction osteogenesis required frontal advancement, at a mean follow-up of 4.0 years of age, compared with 22 patients (100 percent) before implementation of posterior vault distraction osteogenesis. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis indicated significant delay of first fronto-orbital advancement in the posterior vault distraction osteogenesis cohort compared with the pre-posterior vault distraction osteogenesis cohort (p = 0.011). Comparing treatment in the first 5 years of life among posterior vault distraction osteogenesis versus non-posterior vault distraction osteogenesis subcohorts of patients older than 5 years, there were significantly fewer fronto-orbital advancements performed (0.6 versus 1.5 per patient; p = 0.023). CONCLUSION: Using early posterior vault distraction osteogenesis for patients with syndromic craniosynostosis significantly reduces the average number of fronto-orbital advancement procedures in the first 5 years of life, delays initial fronto-orbital advancement, and is likely to reduce the total number of major craniofacial procedures. CLINICAL QUESTION/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic, III.

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BACKGROUND: Posterior pharyngeal flap (PPF) surgery is effective for treating velopharyngeal insufficiency but has historically been associated with risk of airway compromise. This study aims to identify risk factors for complications from and readmission after PPF using a national database. METHODS: Patients who underwent PPF surgery were selected from the 2012 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program Pediatric (NSQIP-PEDS) database. Patient characteristics, comorbidities, and complication/readmission data were analyzed. RESULTS: Among 225 study patients, 12 (5.3%) suffered perioperative complications. The most common complications were pulmonary in nature (5 patients, 2.2%), including prolonged postoperative mechanical ventilation (3 patients, 1.3%). Underlying asthma (P = .024) or any cardiac risk factor (P = .047) conveyed significant complication risk. Further, severe cardiac risk factors were associated with postoperative bleeding (P = .024). Readmission (4 patients, 1.7%) and reoperation (3 patients, 1.3%) occurred at mean intervals of 9 and 10 days after the original procedure. Seventy-nine patients (35%) were discharged postoperatively on an outpatient basis, and this subgroup included only one patient (1.2%) with a complication (P = .038). CONCLUSIONS: The overall perioperative complication rate for PPF surgery is low at 5.3%. Patients with underlying cardiac risk factors, severe American Society of Anesthesiologists Physical Status class, and asthma should prompt greater attention given their heightened risk profiles.

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Multisuture craniosynostosis with a mild cloverleaf deformity is rare but associated with high morbidity and mortality. Conventional treatment to alleviate intracranial hypertension in a young infant involves multisuturectomy and relies on passive correction of the deformity followed by additional staged reconstruction later in infancy. Early regional craniectomy and rigid reconstruction have been described, but the cranial bone has limited stability to tolerate plate fixation and extensive dissection of the bone-dura interface may devascularize the cranial bone flap and limit its durability. The authors report an interesting technique to treat a mild form of cloverleaf skull deformity using early, nondevascularizing osteotomies followed by application of semiburied cranial distractors in multiple planes to increase intracranial volume and treat the deformity, and its attendant volumetric constriction, in a single stage.

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