Born Without a Nose: What Arhinia Is, and Why the Anomaly Scan Matters

Did you know that some babies are born without a nose? Singapore scientists have just cracked the mystery of this rare condition.

Fewer than 100 cases have ever been recorded in the medical literature: a baby born with no nose at all, no external nose and no nasal passages behind it. The condition is called arhinia, and it sits among the rarest things a doctor will ever see. Behind the startling headline is a lesson every expecting parent can use, about what the detailed pregnancy scan looks for and why it matters.

Arhinia is the extremely rare congenital absence of the nose, from a hiccup in how the face forms in early pregnancy. Fewer than 100 cases exist worldwide. It’s usually picked up before or at birth, and managed by a specialist team.

Rare conditions like this are why the detailed anomaly scan at 18 to 22 weeks matters. It’s the check that spots the unexpected.

What arhinia is

Arhinia is the complete absence of the external nose and the nasal passages behind it, present from birth. The face forms in a precise sequence between the third and tenth weeks of pregnancy, and the nose develops from small patches of tissue called nasal placodes. If those fail to develop, the nose doesn’t form. It’s extraordinarily rare: the medical literature holds fewer than 100 recorded cases, some estimates far fewer.

Because it’s so rare, and often linked with other midline differences of the face, eyes or palate, it isn’t something an ordinary pregnancy carries any meaningful risk of. It’s a medical curiosity precisely because it almost never happens.

What it means for a baby

Newborns breathe mainly through the nose, so a baby born without nasal passages needs urgent help to breathe and feed, often an airway secured at birth and feeding support. Depending on what else is involved, a team of specialists, in craniofacial surgery, ear-nose-throat, eyes and others, plans care over years. A nose can be surgically reconstructed later in childhood, though because the condition is so rare there’s no single standard procedure, and each case is managed individually. Children with arhinia can live full lives with this coordinated care, and that pattern holds for other uncommon childhood diagnoses too: families dealing with nephrotic syndrome in children describe the same rhythm of long-term specialist follow-up and steady routines at home.

The real takeaway: the anomaly scan

For an expecting parent, the rarity is beside the point. What sticks is the reminder that pregnancy scans exist to catch the unexpected. The detailed anomaly scan, done around 18 to 22 weeks, checks the baby’s development head to toe:

The brain, skull and face, including the profile and features
The spine
The heart and its major vessels
The stomach, kidneys and bladder
The limbs, hands and feet
The placenta and the amount of amniotic fluid

Most scans are reassuring. When something unusual shows up, whether a rare facial difference or a more common finding, detecting it before birth lets the medical team plan: more scans, specialist referral, and a delivery in the right hospital with the right people ready. Scans and blood pressure checks also catch problems on the mother’s side, and one Singapore mum’s account of HELLP syndrome in pregnancy shows how fast an antenatal review can turn into an emergency delivery.

Pregnancy scans in Singapore

In Singapore, routine antenatal care includes a dating scan in the first trimester, the option of first-trimester screening for chromosomal conditions, and the detailed anomaly scan in the second trimester. Your obstetrician arranges these, and if a scan raises a question, you’ll be referred to a maternal-fetal medicine specialist for a closer look. Not every difference can be seen on a scan, and a normal scan is very reassuring but not an absolute guarantee, so the newborn checks after birth matter too. Imaging keeps earning its place after delivery as well, and it’s how doctors identify things like the caesarean scar niche and secondary infertility in women struggling to conceive again.

Common questions

What’s arhinia?

The extremely rare congenital absence of the nose and nasal passages, present from birth, caused by a failure of the nose to form in early pregnancy. Fewer than 100 cases have been recorded worldwide.

What causes a baby to be born without a nose?

A disruption in how the face forms between the third and tenth weeks of pregnancy, when the tissues that become the nose fail to develop. It usually happens by chance and is exceptionally rare.

Can arhinia be treated?

Babies need urgent help to breathe and feed at birth, and a team of specialists manages care over years, including surgical reconstruction of a nose later in childhood. Because it’s so rare, care is individualised.

Can a scan detect conditions like this before birth?

The detailed anomaly scan at 18 to 22 weeks checks the baby’s face, brain, heart, spine and organs, and can pick up many differences before birth, allowing the team to plan. Not every condition is visible, so newborn checks matter too.

When is the anomaly scan done in Singapore?

Around 18 to 22 weeks of pregnancy, arranged by your obstetrician as part of routine antenatal care, along with earlier dating and screening scans.

Keep the 20-week appointment

Arhinia isn’t a realistic worry for an ordinary pregnancy, and reading about it shouldn’t add anything to your list of 3am fears. What’s worth carrying away is the appointment itself. The detailed anomaly scan at 18 to 22 weeks is the half hour where a sonographer works through your baby’s brain, heart, spine and face while there’s still time for the right team to get ready. Show up for it, ask what they’re looking at, and when the report comes back normal, believe it.