- Vomer flap surgery
Vomer flap surgery was used prior to 1975 as a surgical treatment for children with
cleft palate . In this procedure, thevomer bone was used to reconstruct the palate and cover the cleft.Vomer flap procedure
The
vomer is a triangle shaped bone that forms the inferior and posterior portion of thenasal septum (www.emedicine.com/plastic/topic519.htm). A vomer flap is a type ofpalatoplasty surgery that uses themucoperiosteal tissue of the vomer to cover a unilateral or bilateralcleft palate . This procedure can be used to reconstruct the nasal or oral surfaces by either raising the vomer or creating a flap. Surgical procedures can be combined according to type of clefting in order to ensure the best outcomes for the patient.Vomer flap surgery involves the suture line of the vomer bone which is an important site formidface growth . In this case, a suture line refers to boundary between two bony plates which eventually grow together as the child matures.Vomer flap and mid-facial growth
Over the years, argument has been raised about the possible interference the vomer flap surgery has with midface growth in children. In 1975, defective mid-facial growth found in some patients caused the vomer flap procedure to begin to decline drastically in surgical use (Friede & Johanson, 1977). A debate still exists among researchers and surgeons in regards to the relationship between vomer flap surgery and defective midface growth. Some contemporary surgeons continue to use the vomer flap technique in the
nasal lining of patients with cleft palate. However, this technique is largely not recommended due to the possible negative side effects.Advantages and disadvantages
Few advantages of the vomer flap procedure include the relative simple execution compared to other palatoplasties, amount of surgery time, and similarity between the
vomer tissue and thenasal mucosa . A major disadvantage of the vomer flap surgery is the varying size and visibility of the vomer in different patients. If the vomer is not visible or too small to cover the cleft, the procedure cannot be done. Another disadvantage of the use of the vomer flap in theoral cavity is that the vomer tissue does not aesthetically match theoral mucosa . The color and texture of thevomer mucosa matches the nasal mucosa much better than the oral mucosa. Sometimes, patients are displeased and uncomfortable with the visible vomer flap in the oral cavity. Thus, the vomer flap has fallen into discredit and is not recommended as a surgical treatment approach.References
*Agrawal, Karoon and Panda, K.N. (2004). Use of vomer flap in palatoplasty: Revisited. The Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Journal, 43(1), 30-37.
*Friede, H. and Johanson, B. (1977). A follow-up study of cleft children treated with vomer flap as part of a three-stage soft tissue surgical procedure. Scandinavian Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, 11(1), 45-57.
*Peterson-Falzone, Sally J., Hardin-Jones, Mary A., and Karnell, Michael P. (2001). Cleft Palate Speech. Mosby, Inc.: St. Louis, MO. 103.
*Witt, Peter. (2006). Craniofacial, cleft palate. www.emedicine.com/plastic/topic519.htm. Found on July 10, 2006.
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