NEONATAL SEPTOPLASTY - CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Treatment of nasal septal deformity in childhood has received growing acceptance in recent years. Traditionally, concern about the role of t he septum in the overall growth of the midface has led otolaryngologis ts to take a very cautious approach to correction of septal deformitie s in children. However, a great deal of evidence now suggests that sev ere traumatic septal deviation can and should be corrected early in ch ildhood to prevent future nasal and systemic complications. Closed man ipulation of the septum in the first 1-2 days of an infant's life has been performed by many otolaryngologists with good results. The use of this technique, however, is usually limited to those subluxations of anterior cartilage which are diagnosed immediately or very shortly aft er birth. We present a case of severe traumatic nasal deformity presen ting with obstructive asleep and awake apnea and cyanosis at the age o f 8 days. The child underwent limited septoplasty using endoscopic tec hniques at age 14 days with resolution of both the apneic and cyanotic episodes immediately post-operatively. This unusual presentation and the literature surrounding infant nasal/septal surgery are discussed.