Effect of palatoplasty on the function of the Eustachian tube in children with cleft palate.

Eustachian tube function of 24 children with cleft palate (37 ears) was evaluated longitudinally utilizing the inflation-deflation and forced-response tests before and after palatoplasty. Our results for children in this longitudinal study showed that the passive function of the tube was improved following palatoplasty. Active tubal function, which measures the muscle-induced tubal dilations, was little affected by the procedure. The majority of ears tested both before and after palatoplasty demonstrated tubal dilations with swallowing. In contrast, cross-sectional data conducted on the children with a history of otitis media and repaired cleft palates, documented a severe defect in this active tubal function with 70 percent of the tests evidencing a tubal constriction. These data suggest that the results of Eustachian tube function tests may be prognostic of the future course of ear disease in these children.