A novel modification of Bardach’s two-flap palatoplasty for the repair of a difficult cleft palate

Abstract

Bardach described a closure of the cleft utilizing the arch of the palate, which provides the length needed for closure and is most effective only in narrow clefts. Herein, we describe a case where we utilized Bardach’s two-flap technique with a vital and easy modification, done to allow closure of a wide cleft palate and to prevent oronasal fistula formation at the junction of the hard and soft palate, which are otherwise difficult to manage with conventional flaps. The closed palate showed healthy healing, palatal lengthening, and no oronasal regurgitation. We advise using this modification to achieve the goals of palatal repair in difficult cases where tension-free closure would otherwise be achieved with more complex flap surgical techniques, such as free microvascular tissue transfer.

Keywords

• cleft palate
• cleft lip
• cleft repair