Traumatic Nasal Deformity in the Newborn

Abstract

Lateral displacement of the nose in the newborn is usually due to one of two types of trauma: ( 1) recent, occurring during birth; (2) prenatal, occurring as the result of forces applied to the nose during the late months of intrauterine life. The first, or birth-injury type, results from excessive pressure on the cartilaginous portion of the nose during birth and usually consists of a dislocation of the septal cartilage from the vomer, with resultant deviation of the cartilaginous portion of the nose from the midline. The nasal bones are uninjured, so that treatment is a simple matter of replacing the tip of the nose in the midline between the thumb and forefinger.¹ Swelling or other signs of recent trauma may be present. More severe birth injuries have been mentioned occasionally in the literature, such as spontaneous fracture during labor² or fracture as the result of improperly applied