98 CLEFT PALATE: 



ample flaps, for the simple reason that the soft 

 tissues may be too thin to allow of their being 

 made. 



As these necessary conditions cannot always be 

 fulfilled, surgical treatment cannot always be 

 employed. 



But before bringing these remarks to a close, I 

 must mention two or three of the objections which 

 may be urged on the one hand against the surgical 

 treatment of this lesion, and what may be said on 

 the other hand in its favour. 



In one instance which came under my own obser- 

 vation, the velum was so contracted by the healing 

 process, that instead of being a curtain of great 

 mobility, it was a stiff, and to a great extent, a 

 useless appendage to the hard palate, and, as I have 

 been informed by one or two gentlemen of some 

 experience that they have occasionally seen the 

 same condition follow as a result of the operation, I 

 infer that it cannot be a very rare one. In the case 

 which I examined, the voice remained very defective, 

 and, from the condition of the parts, the patient 

 was beyond the reach of successful mechanical 

 treatment. 



The pain of the operation may be urged by some 

 as an objection, for it is very great ; chloroform is 

 inadmissible, as the surgeon requires all the 

 assistance the patient can render him during its 

 performance. 



The uncertainty as to the result of the operation 



