OBJECTIVE: To compare the findings of auditory-perceptual evaluation (e.g., hyper nasality) and videonasoendoscopy (e.g., gap size) in individuals with cleft lip/palate. CASE REPORT: The velopharyngeal sphincter (VPS) is a muscle belt between the oropharynx and the nasopharynx. Investigations of velopharyngeal function should include an auditory-perceptual evaluation and at least 1 instrument-based evaluation such as videonasal endoscopy. This was a retrospective, cross-sectional study that assessed 49 patients of both sexes who had cleft lip/palate. They were followed up at the Otorhinolaryngology Service and the Speech Therapy Outpatient Clinic of Hospital de ClÃnicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) (Porto Alegre, Brazil). The results from the auditory-perceptual evaluation and the video nasal endoscopy test were compared with respect to the VPS gap size. Patients with moderate/severe hypernasality had more severe velopharyngeal closure impairment than patients with a less severe condition. The interaction between the severity of hypernasality and the presence of other speech disorders (p = 0.035) (compensatory and/or obligatory) increased the likelihood of a patient having a moderate-to-large gap in the velopharyngeal closure. CONCLUSIONS: We observed an association between the findings of these 2 evaluation methods.
