Neither in the works on surgery, nor in the special works on the nose and throat is there much information about this subject, and yet any injury deflecting the nasal bones causes a deformity very apparent and disagreeable throughout life, besides often obstructing one of the nostrils. Probably many of these cases occur in childhood, due to falls or blows, and the injury to the nasal bones is so masked by the swelling resulting from the accident that fracture is not diagnosticated. As the swelling disappears, it is noticed that the nose is no longer quite straight, and that one nostril is somewhat obstructed. These cases often come, in adult life, with a request that the nose may be straightened or the nostril cleared for respiration.
To replace the nasal bones is not as a rule difficult, but to keep them in place has been found to be almost impossible.