[A rare cause of respiratory distress in the newborn]

Respiratory distress in the newborn represents a real medical challenge from both the etiological and therapeutic points of view. The causes of respiratory distress are usually divided into two categories: upper and lower airway impairments, with the glottis as the reference level. Concerning the upper airway impairment in the newborn, nasal malformations are one of the main causes, choanal atresia in particular and more rarely congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis. The latter can be symptomatic in a variable degree, depending on the severity of the obstruction. Moreover, the potential syndromic character with the association of other malformations, such as single median incisor or intracranial midline anomalies, should systematically lead to the realisation of a cerebral MRI. Several lines of treatment are available depending on the clinical response ranging from conservative treatment to surgical intervention.