Effect of nasogastric tube usage for feeding on fistula formation after cleft palate surgery: A retrospective study

Introduction and Aim; Cleft palate and lip are the most common congenital anomalies. One of the most important complications after cleft palate surgery is fistulas. In this study; It is aimed to determine whether the use of NG tupe for feeding after cleft palate surgery is effective on fistula formation. Materials and Methods; After obtaining the necessary permissions for our study, 320 patients who were operated in our clinic between March 2005 and December 2016 were examined retrospectively from file records. After the cleft palate surgery patients who NG tube used for feeding identified as group 1, unused group identified as group 2. Results; 176 patients (55%) were male and 144 (45%) were female patients who were operated on the cause of cleft palate. The number of patients operated in Group 1 was 138 and the number of fistula patients was 15 (10,8%). The number of patients operated in Group 2 was 182 and the number of fistula patients was 42 (23%). Conclusion; Our study revealed the gender, cleft palate type, and fistula rates of patients who were operated on with the cause of cleft palate in our clinic. In our study, we found that the use of NG tube significantly reduced fistula rates after cleft palate surgery. There was a statistically significant correlation between fistula formation and NG tube using (P = 0.006). Keywords; Cleft Palate, NG tube, Fistula, Orofacial Cleft, Plastic Surgery