title: Congenital unilateral nasal aperture stenosis.
abstract: Congenital nasal aperture stenosis is an unusual cause of upper airway obstruction among neonates, and rarely presents as unilateral. Most commonly presents as choanal atresia. A CT evaluation is essential to confirm the diagnosis. Both surgical and conservative management can be applied, based on the severity of the associated clinical presentation; however, the very rare unilateral condition is usually treated conservatively. We present a case of a 30-day-old male baby (second twin, preterm 29 weeks pregnancy, and birth weight 1.070 kg) with difficult breathing since birth. The baby was referred for an ENT consultation. He was on a nasal cannula, not in respiratory distress, with no stridor, nor tachypnea. There were decreased breathing sounds in the left nostril. Nasogastric tubes size 8 French (Fr) and 6 Fr could not be introduced through the left nostril, which looked obstructed more anteriorly.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, Armed Forces Hospitals, PO Box 1347, Taif 21944, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ptrc_alhada@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Eidha F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: AlJuaid
authors.forename: Fahad M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Alshehri
mesh_terms: D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000151:congenital; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D015508:Nasal Obstruction / Q000150:complications* / Q000151:congenital* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed