[Surgical treatment of hypernasality in Denmark].

[OBJECTIVE] A palatopharyngoplasty is a widely used operation performed to diminish hypernasality. The purpose of this study was to assess the results of the palatopharyngoplasties and to estimate if the type of cleft or other structural defect influenced these results.

[MATERIAL AND METHOD] This is a retrospective study of the patient records from 1/1-1991 to 1/11-1996 comprising 297 operations on which 284 records were available. The results of the operations were evaluated by speech pathologists who have rated the nasality before and after the palatopharyngoplasties.

[RESULTS] Following operation 90.1% of the patients obtained normal resonance or reduced hypernasality. The type of cleft or other structural defect did not influence the results.

[DISCUSSION] Palatopharyngoplasty is an effective operative procedure in the treatment of hypernasality, regardless of the type of cleft or structural defect. To further optimize the treatment a higher level of standardization is recommended.