ABSTRACT
Unlike repair of clefts of the lip, the development of techniques for surgical palate closure has been slower. Obturation has been performed down the centuries principally driven by the need to treat acquired clefts due to syphillis or gunshot wounds. There are a number of classical operations described by Roux, then Von Langenbeck followed by Veau and then Wardill and Killner. Each added refinements and modifications to what had been described previously. Lateral osteotomies, lateral relieving incisions and wide subperiosteal undermining were described by various authors during the early part of the 19th century. The early 20th century saw many modifications of flap design, palatal push-back procedures and the later years were typified by detailed studies into the muscular anatomy and design of functional palate repairs. Alveolar bone grafting has been developed in conjunction with the functional pattern palate repair procedures.
