The relationship between timing of cleft palate surgery and speech outcome: What have we learned., and where do we stand in the 1990s?

The optimum age for surgical closure of cleft palate remains an unresolved question, despite the fact that many clinicians have studied the issue since the 1930s. This article reviews the debate as it has taken shape over the last several decades, with a prospective view toward how standards of practice may evolve in the foreseeable future.