Congenital atresia of posterior choanae.

Congenital atresia of posterior choanae is a moderately rare condition, and although Boyd (1945) has accounted for 230 cases in the literature, description of the symptoms presenting at birth are very scanty. Unilateral choanal obstruction is very much more common than the complete bilateral obstruction that was found in the present case. Richardson (1913) described a similar case in which relays of assistants maintained an airway by keeping the mouth of the child open, until at the end of a fortnight oral breathing was established.