As media noted, this condition known as congenital arhinia is extremely rare occurring about 1 in 197 million. In fact, there's only 40 known cases in the world currently.
When an infant is born unable to breath thru the nose, this is a life-threatening condition because newborns are not able to breath thru the mouth. They are known as obligate nasal breathers. Because newborns can't mouth-breath, steps need to be taken to help or force the baby to mouth-breath. In a temporary situation of nasal obstruction, a McGovern Nipple can be artificially created to force an infant to mouth-breath when unable to nose-breath.
But, if an infant is born without a nose, a temporary fix like a McGovern Nipple will not work long-term. A trach has to be performed as a more long-term solution until a new nose can be created for the infant.
That's why you see a trach in the picture of little baby Eli.
Source:
Baby with Extremely Rare Condition Born Without Nose. People 4/2/15
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