The effectiveness of the promotion of newborn hearing screening in Taiwan.

Objective: Hearing is a critical ability for the development of a child's speech and language. Many studies in different countries have shown the universal newborn hearing screening and early intervention has greatly reduced the negative impact caused by congenital hearing loss. The first universal newborn hearing screening program in Taiwan took place in MacKay Memorial Hospital in 1998 and was subsequently endorsed by the government.

Two-stage palate repair with delayed hard palate closure is related to favorable maxillary growth in unilateral cleft lip and palate.

Background: Two-stage palate repair with delayed hard palate closure is generally advocated because it allows the best possible postoperative maxillary growth. Nevertheless, in the literature, it has been questioned whether maxillary growth is better following use of this protocol. The authors therefore aimed to investigate whether stage of palate repair, one-stage versus two-stage, had a significant effect on facial growth in patients with unilateral cleft lip and palate.