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Congenital pyriform aperture stenosis should be suspected whenever there is both severe nasal obstruction and difficulty in passing a small catheter or nasogastric tube through the anterior nasal valve. Operation is the most extreme treatment, but it is effective for congenital pyriform aperture stenosis. Nasal stenting for 7 days seemed to be adequate. The use of three-dimensional computed tomography to evaluate preoperative and postoperative nasal pyriform aperture is effective and reliable.

Most schwannomas of the hypoglossal nerve originate from the intracranial portion, but they may extend extracranially. Solitary and extracranial schwannomas are extremely rare. We report a case of submandibular hypoglossal schwannoma along with its clinical course and management.

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The purpose of this study is to establish a model of universal newborn hearing screening in Taiwan. The project of screening is a large-scale implenlentation of the transient evoked otoacoustic emissions. The screening test was carried out on newborns 48 hours after birth, just prior to hospital discharge. The project extended from November 1998 to December 2001 at Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei. A total of 11 291 newborns were screened. Among them, 10556 babies (93.5%) passed the test bilaterally, but 735 babies (6.5%) failed it. For those who failed in screening it was arranged to have OAE or ABR testing for further assessment. The results show that 18 babies were diagnosed to have bilateral hearing loss and 41 unilateral hearing loss. The prevalence of congenital bilateral hearing loss is about 0.16% and that of unilateral hearing loss is approximately 0.36%. All the babies identified with bilateral hearing loss were referred to the Children's Hearing Foundation for hearing rehabilitation.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of successful laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (LAUP) on oral airway resistance (R(OA)) during wakefulness in patients with OSAS. Fifteen healthy subjects (group I) and 25 subjects (group II) with moderately severe or severe obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) proven by an overnight sleep study and who desired LAUP were enrolled. All underwent an overnight sleep study, pulmonary function testing and measurement of oral airway resistance [R(OA) (including impedance (Zrs), resistance (R) and reactance (X)] measurement by Impulse Oscillometry (IOS) (MasterScreen IOS, VIASYS Healthcare GmbH, Germany) in the upright (seated) position and then in the supine position while awake. Group II subjects had these measurements twice, both before and 3 months after LAUP. Based on the assessment of their sleep study after LAUP, they were divided into two groups: responders (group IIa) and nonresponders (group IIb). Zrs was normal in the sitting position both before and after LAUP in both groups IIa and IIb and comparable to that of group I controls. There was an increase in Zrs in the supine position in both groups IIa and IIb subjects before LAUP. After LAUP, the Zrs in group IIb subjects remained elevated, while that in group IIa subjects returned to levels comparable to those in the normal controls. OSAS patients before LAUP have abnormal R(OA) in the supine position as reflected by a high Zrs. The Zrs is improved after LAUP that successfully ameliorates OSAS.