[Choanal atresia]

A report of eight patients with choanal atresia, three male and five female is presented. The atresia was bilateral in five cases and unilateral in three, bony in seven and membranous in one. Three attempts at surgical repair in neonates and early aged infants via the transnasal approach were unsuccessful resulting in choanal stenosis which necessitated surgical reintervention via the transpalatal route. The transpalatal approach, when the children were between three and sixteen years of age, was successful in the other five patients and in the three cases of stenosis. The importance of the knowledge and awareness of the disease is stressed. Only this will permit the early diagnosis necessary in order to save most affected infants. The high incidence of congenital anomalies makes imperative the careful evaluation of these patients in order to detect the presence of other pathological processes. The information that can be obtained from computerized tomography makes its use highly recommendable in all cases of choanal atresia. Surgical treatment via the transpalatal approach seem to give the best results with the least surgical complications.