Quality of speech correlated to craniofacial characteristics of cleft palate patients with the Pierre Robin sequence.

The present study aims at examining the relationship between cephalometric craniofacial dimensions and speech performance in 30 young adult cleft palate patients with a Pierre Robin (PR) sequence. Speech was analyzed from tape-recorded speech samples and by using nasalance measurements. Veloparyngeal closure was assessed by using videonasendoscopy. Various cephalometric dimensions reflecting facial vertical height and sagittal nasopharyngeal length were measured and compared to speech data. The results indicated that the sagittal bony nasopharyngeal depth (AD1-PNS, AD2-PNS) is significantly related to speech impairment in terms of the need for velopharyngoplasty. After comparing the present results to those obtained from patients with isolated cleft palate without a PR sequence we concluded that the cleft patients with a PR sequence require more often velopharyngeal flaps to eliminate persisting signs of velopharyngeal insufficiency.