Cleft Summit 2022: The Impact of a Unified Voice
Raj M. Vyas, Wassim Najjar, Joseph E. Losee, Ann W. Kummer, Usama S. Hamdan,- Otorhinolaryngology
- Oral Surgery
Objective
The inaugural Cleft Summit aimed to unite experts and foster interdisciplinary collaboration, seeking a collective understanding of velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) management.
Design
An interactive debate and conversation between a multidisciplinary cleft care team on VPI management
Setting
A two-hour discussion within a four-day comprehensive cleft care workshop (CCCW).
Participants
Thirty-two global leaders from various cleft disciplines
Interventions
Cleft Summit that allows for meaningful interdisciplinary collaboration and knowledge exchange.
Main Outcome Measures
Ability to reach consensus on a unified statement for VPI management.
Results
Participants agreed that a patient with significant VPI and a dynamic velum should first receive a surgery that lengthens the velum to optimize patient outcome. A global, multicenter prospective study should be done to test this hypothesis.
Conclusion
The 1st Cleft Summit successfully distilled global expertise into actionable best-practice guidelines through iterative discussions, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and paving the way for a transformative multi-center prospective study on VPI care.