What causes velopharyngeal incompetence?

What causes velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI)? The most common cause of VPI is a cleft palate, a birth defect in which there is an opening in the roof of the mouth because the palate didn’t form properly. Repair of the cleft palate may or may not also eliminate the VPI problem.

What are the symptoms of velopharyngeal dysfunction?

What are the Signs and Symptoms of VPD?

Excessively nasal speech quality (also known as hypernasality)
Leakage of air through the nose while speaking.
Speech which sounds weak or muffled.
Abnormal articulation.
Leakage of food or liquid through the nose while eating.

What is velopharyngeal incompetence?

Velopharyngeal incompetence occurs when the velum and lateral and posterior pharyngeal walls fail to separate the oral cavity from the nasal cavity during speech and deglutination.

What happens during Velopharyngeal insufficiency?

Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) is when the soft palate does not close tightly against the back of the throat, leading to air coming out the nose (characterized by hypernasality and/or nasal air emission) during speech. This can cause speech that is difficult to understand.

How do you fix Velopharyngeal dysfunction?

VPI is treated with surgery or a special speech appliance that your child wears in their mouth. VPM is treated with speech therapy. VP incompetence is treated with speech therapy and sometimes with a speech appliance or surgery.

How is Velopharyngeal insufficiency treated?

Treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency consists of speech therapy and surgical correction by a palatal elongation pushback procedure, posterior pharyngeal wall implant, pharyngeal flap, or pharyngoplasty, depending on the mobility of the lateral pharyngeal walls, the degree of velar elevation, and the size of the …

What is the difference between Velopharyngeal incompetence and insufficiency?

Velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI), which is due to abnormal structure. Velopharyngeal incompetence (VPI), which is due to abnormal movement. Velopharyngeal mislearning, which is due to abnormal speech sound production.

How is VPI treated?

Is Velopharyngeal insufficiency genetic?

A genetic cause of velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI) is identified in about one-third of children referred with VPI and/or indistinct speech and associated features.

What does Velopharyngeal insufficiency sound like?

When a child has VPI, the pressure consonants may sound weak or muffled. As air escapes through the nose, it may sound like puffs, squeaks or snorts.

How do you fix velopharyngeal dysfunction?

What are the symptoms of velopharyngeal insufficiency in children?

Patients with velopharyngeal insufficiency have characteristic hypernasal resonant voice associated with nasal emission of air (escape of air through the nasal passage with speech), nasal turbulence, and inability to produce oral phonemes/ plosives. Parents often complaints this as unintelligible speech.

What is the meaning of velopharyngeal incompetence?

Velopharyngeal incompetence: The soft palate lets air into the nose because of a muscular or nerve problem, rather than because of the structure of the back of the mouth. Velopharyngeal mislearning: The palate is functioning properly, but a child has learned an unusual speech pattern that doesn’t use it properly.

When do you need surgery for velopharyngeal incompetence?

The treatment of velopharyngeal insufficiency or velopharyngeal incompetence usually requires surgery. When surgery is needed for VPI, the surgery does not change the way the child has already learned to talk. For more information on VPI insufficiency treatment, visit the VPI Clinic.

What causes velopharyngeal insufficiency ( VPI )?