A little baby girl was born 17 months ago with an extremely rare limitation as she failed to develop a nose in her mother’s womb.
The infant was born with total arhinia which is an unexplained congenital absence of the nose and/or nasal passages. Only about 30 cases of this condition have been reported. It is classified as a craniofacial abnormality. Just eight days into her life, doctors had to open a second airway for her.
A tracheotomy was performed. Soon the little girl will be seeing a plastic surgeon who will build a mold of a nose to be implanted through her scalp line. As she grows, larger molds will be implanted. The girl’s mother was first made aware of the condition after a scan 20 weeks into her pregnancy.
Her parents then became aware of certain medical literature that encourages terminating pregnancies involving children with such a condition. It was the collective recommendation of the writers of this literature that prompted the girl’s parents to come forward with their daughter’s life.
Their goal is to tie in with other people with arhinia, raise public awareness of the condition, and promote publication of more reliable medical research and literature.
Notwithstanding her disability, the little girl loves her big brother and sister. She mimics their behavior, climbs on top of furniture, loves her dancing, and stays as active as any other child of that age. She even sneezes!