Speach  Outcome  Older (More than 15 years)  Individual   after  Palate  Repair / VPI Corrective Surgery –an  Analysis.                                                        -  Dr. Jyotsna Murthy, Ms. Sunitha V Raman, Dr. S Nityaraj, Dr. Altaf Hussain
Sri Ramachandra Cleft and Craniofacial  Center, Chennai.

Surgery for palate repair of VPI correction in older individuals (greater than 15 years) has been often discussed as whether it is a worthwhile measure. As part of this argument, the present study focuses on the speech outcome in terms of intelligibility, correct articulation and voice profile after the palate repair/VPI correction in older individuals. The pre-operative, immediate post-operative and post therapy speech samples of each individual were recorded. Two trained speech pathologists(who were not a part of the cleft team) perceptually rated the speech samples on the above parameters. The other factors discussed were difficulty in operative procedure, complication in surgery and improvement in oral hygiene. The results also included the operated individual's self-satisfaction.

Though restoration of structural integrity of palate helps to abolish nasal regurgitation, it contributes to minimal improvement in complex speech mechanism. Constant monitoring and intensive support from the speech pathologist is required for more improvement in speech.

Key word: Palate repair, VPI correction, and Speech outcome
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