Otologic and audiologic status of Russian children with cleft lip and palate.

OBJECTIVE

In this study, researchers evaluated the otologic and audiologic status of 112 children with repaired cleft lip and palate who had received primary palatal repair by means of Frolova palatoplasty, a surgical technique developed by Dr. Larisa Y. Frolova, founder and director of the National Pediatric Center for Congenital Maxillofacial Pathology, Moscow, Russia.

DESIGN

Results of hearing thresholds and tympanograms for these Russian children were compared with data previously reported from a group of 48 children and adults with repaired cleft lip and palate at the University of Florida Craniofacial Center, Gainesville, Florida.

RESULTS

There were no substantial differences in hearing thresholds between the two groups, which was surprising in view of the vast differences between middle ear management techniques used in Russia and the United States.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering these findings and the growing body of literature favoring a more conservative approach to the management of middle ear effusion in infants with cleft lip and palate, a reexamination of otologic strategies in the United States seems advisable.