The Center for Cleft and Craniofacial Care at Phoenix Children’s is dedicated to providing the best possible care. As part of our commitment to offer state-of-the-art treatments, we participate in clinical trials. These research studies help us find new and better ways to care for children needing plastic and reconstructive surgery.
Cleft and Craniofacial Research
Phoenix Children’s is leading the Velopharyngeal insufficiency outcomes prediction study (VPI-OPS) study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine the best diagnostic methods and surgical procedures to treat VPI. VPI is a speech problem caused by structural issues in the throat that lead to inappropriate air escaping from the nose during speech.
This study brings together surgeons, speech-language pathologists and researchers from hospitals across the U.S. and Canada. The goal is to identify the most effective diagnostic methods and treatment for VPI.
Phoenix Children’s is part of Cleft outcomes research NETwork (CORNET), a multicenter NIH-funded study to determine which surgical, feeding and speech therapy approaches help children with cleft palate achieve the best possible outcomes. We enroll children at birth, tracking them through palate repair and later evaluating their speech outcomes at 3 years of age.
The network also identifies ways to improve the overall health and well-being of children with cleft palate. This project offshoot is the Health and Psychosocial Outcomes in Young Children with Cleft Palate (HAPY) study.
Additional Research
- Developing an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that can facilitate speech evaluations in children with cleft palate
- Identifying factors that predict complications after craniosynostosis repair, enabling surgeons to better plan and prepare for these procedures
- Expanding the use of MRI for evaluating children with VPI to improve surgical planning and avoid the need for invasive imaging methods
- Creating and piloting an implementation strategy for standardized outcome measurement in children with cleft lip and palate
- Evaluating the application of an internet-based home monitoring program for infants with cleft lip and palate to prevent malnutrition and reduce the patient family burden
Find a Research Study
Patients and families can use the Find a Research Study tool or speak with their child’s doctor to learn about enrollment in current and upcoming clinical research studies at Phoenix Children’s.