NEW METHOD OF OPERATION FOR CONGENITAL ATRESIA OF THE POSTERIOR NARES

Congenital atresia, or imperforation, of the posterior nares is a developmental malformation resulting in partial or complete closure of the choanae. The obstruction may be unilateral or bilateral and membranous or osseous. In my case the occlusion was complete and the partition composed of bone. Operation comprised removal of the obstructing plate and insertion of a full thickness skin graft to prevent cicatricial closure. PATHOGENESIS AND ANATOMY Several theories have been advanced to explain this anomaly, which the early writers attributed to an overgrowth of the bony structures surrounding the choanae. Luschka 1 said that the obstructing plate arises from a projection upward and backward of the horizontal plate of the palatal bone, while Kundrat stated that the occlusion follows an extension inward of the vertical plate of the palatine bone. Thomasson 2 expressed the opinion that the atresia is due to an extension of the plate of the vomer which becomes