AIM: This study aimed to investigate the physiology of the velopharyngeal sphincter in patients born with Möbius syndrome. CASE REPORT: Eight boys, with ages ranging from 11 months to 13 years, all born with Möbius syndrome, were assessed. Otolaryngology physicians conducted nasofibrolaryngoscopic evaluations at a public hospital in São Paulo in 2012. Speech pathologists performed the auditory-perceptual analyses of voice, complemented by findings of nasofibrolaryngoscopy. The evaluation showed that 86% subjects had incomplete closure and 14% had complete closure. These results also showed that 72% subjects presented with a coronal closure pattern, while 14% had a circular closure pattern and 14% had a coronal closure pattern with the presence of Passavant'sridge. Besides, the patients with complete unilateral facial paralysis presented with movement of the side walls and coronal closure; however, the patients with inferior facial paralysis below the middle third presented with circular closure, and those with complete bilateral facial paralysis showed no side wall movement or coronal closure. CONCLUSION: Some patients had different closure types, despite impairment of the facial nerve that was common in all patients. One might consider the hypothesis that other nerves may be impaired.
