[Surgical procedures in cleft-palate patients, with reference to phonetic function: primary and secondary methods (author's transl)].

Surgeons undertaking the closure of cleft lip and cleft palate must develop a therapeutic technique that will give the best possible phonetic results and cause the minimum disturbance to normal growth of the maxillae in each case. Clinical observations reveal that different operative procedures achieve normal phonetic function in 60-80 percent of cases. The author has observed the best results when patients have been operated on for cleft lips at 4-6 months of age and for cleft palate at 2-3 years. If nasal speech persists after a cleft-palate operation, a secondary pharyngoplasty can be undertaken in the preschool period, with favorable results in about 70 percent of cases.