• Two nursing home patients with difficulty breathing because of occlusion of the mouth and nares by an involuntary snout reflex—like mannerism have previously been described. In both cases advanced dementia, edentia, and a downward-angled nasal base were present. Life-threatening hypoxia occurred intermittently in one case, and after becoming severe, was corrected by the surgical procedure described.
(Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1990;116:460-461)