Risk factors leading to mucoperiosteal flap necrosis after primary palatoplasty in patents with cleft palate

Background: Few studies have been published reporting risk factors for flap necrosis after primary palatoplasty in patients with cleft palate. This complication is rare, and the event is a disaster for both the patient and the surgeon. This study was performed to explore the associations between different risk factors and the development of flap necrosis after primary palatoplasty in patients with cleft palate.

Methods: This is a case-control study. A 20 years retrospective analysis (1994–2015) of patients with nonsyndromic cleft palate was identified from medical records and screening day registries). Demographical and risk factor data were collected using a patient´s report, including information about age at surgery, gender, cleft palate type, and degree of severity. Odds ratios and 95% confident intervals were derived from logistic regression analysis.

Results: All cases with diagnoses of flap necrosis after primary palatoplasty were included in the study (48 patients) and 156 controls were considered. In multivariate analysis, female sex, age (older than 15 years), cleft type (bilateral and incomplete), and severe cleft palate index were associated with significantly increased risk for flap necrosis.

Conclusions: The findings suggest that female sex, older age, cleft type (bilateral and incomplete), and severe cleft palatal index may be associated with the development of flap necrosis after primary palatoplasty in patients with cleft palate.