Incidence of Residual Oronasal Fistulas: A 20-Year Experience:

Objective: To determine the incidence and most frequent anatomical locations of residual oronasal fistulas in children with different types of clefts who were treated at the University Department of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery in Ljubljana. Design: Retrospective analysis of 857 consecutive patients with cleft born between 1984 and 2003. Results: After primary surgical repair, 33 out of 857 (3.9%) children had residual oronasal fistulas. The incidence of clinically significant fistulas that required surgical repair was 17 of 857 (2.0%). In children with unilateral cleft lip and palate (UCLP), bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), or isolated cleft palate (CP), the incidence of palatal fistulas was 23 of 644 (3.6%). Of these palatal fistulas, 12 (1.9%) were clinically significant. Oronasal fistulas were most frequently found in children with BCLP (9 of 88, 10.2%), followed by UCLP (12 of 215, 5.6%) and CP (12 of 341, 3.5%). No fistulas were found in children with unilateral cleft lip and alveolar ridge....