A Study of Speech Improvement Following Palatopharyngeal Flap Surgery

Abstract

The pharyngeal flap is a frequently used procedure for improving velo-pharyngeal competency. In order to properly evaluate the results of such procedures it would seem necessary to make a comparison between the patient's performance before and after the treatment. Several different procedures may be used for examining velopharyngeal compe-tency, such as oral air pressure ratios and cinefiuorographic studies. However, since the major concern in connection with velopharyngeal incompetency is its effect on speech, an evaluation of the results of pharyngeal flap operations should in some way include an evaluation of speech quality. Unfortunately speech quality is not easily measured as it comprises many variables. Rating scales have been used for the evaluation of such variables as hypernasal quality and articulation defectiveness. Equal-appearing-intervals scales have most frequently been used (.9). Rating scales have sometimes been considered too subjective as they require a judgment on the part of the listener. Although efforts have been made to use more " objective " methods such as spectrographic analysis, such methods have not found common use. Moll (5) pointed out that since the purpose of speech is communication, it is not logical to elimi— nate the listener from the evaluation procedure. It would thus be desirable to find a method which would provide relatively objective measurements without excluding the important role of the listener as the receiver in the communication process. In intelligibility tests listeners are used Without their making any subjective judgments of what they hear.