The supernumerary nostril is a rare challenge, first reported by Lindsay in 1906. It has been suggested that they may develop from an accessory nasal pit or from a fissure in the lateral nasal process to create a double nostril. The authors present a case report of a seven-month-old child with a supernumerary nostril. The lateral ala was much longer than on the other side. The authors described how their goal was to obliterate the redundant nasal tract, reduce the nasal width and reposition the alar base. The supernumerary lateral portion of the nostril was excised via a crescentic incision. A portion of the alar base was removed. A Z-plasty was designed to transpose the alar base medially and reduce nostril width: the central portion of the Z-plasty design lay across the new alar base, one limb was in the alar-facial groove and the other was within the nose. The authors did not use nasal stenting postoperatively and show results at two months. This paper contributes to the literature on rare congenital deformities of the nose, with an elegant technique.
Repair of the supernumerary nostril
Reviewed by Aina Greig
Repair of the supernumerary nostril.
