Five surgical maneuvers on nasal mucosa movement in cleft palate repair – a cadaver study

Abstract Introduction This biomechanical study aims to characterize the nasal mucosa during palatoplasty, describing the soft tissue attachments at different zones and quantifying movement following their release. Methods Palatal nasal mucosa was exposed and divided in the midline in 10 adult cadaver heads. Five consecutive maneuvers were performed: (1) elevation of nasal mucosal off the maxilla; (2) dissection of nasal mucosa from soft palate musculature; (3) separation of nasal mucosa from palatine aponeurosis; (4) release of mucosa at the pterygopalatine junction; (5) mobilization of vomer flaps. The mucosal movements across the midline at the midpalate and posterior nasal spine following each maneuver were measured. Results At the midpalate, maneuvers 1-4 cumulatively provided 3.8 mm (36.9%), 4.9 mm (47.6%), 6.1 mm (59.2%), and 10.3 mm, respectively. Vomer flap (10.5 mm) elevation led to mobility equivalent to that of maneuvers 1-4 (p=0.72). At the posterior nasal spine, cumulative measurements after maneuvers 1-4 were 1.3 mm (10%), 2.4 mm (18.6%), 5.7 mm (44.2%), and 12.9 mm. Here, vomer flaps (6.5 mm) provided less movement (p