FREQUENCY OF ASSOCIATED ANOMALIES IN CONGENITAL HYPOPLASIA OF DEPRESSOR ANGULI ORIS MUSCLE - A STUDY OF 50 PATIENTS

Aside from congenital heart disease, anomalies associated with unilate ral hypoplasia of the depressor anguli oris muscle have not been well- documented in large series, We evaluated the associated anomalies in 5 0 infants or children with this disorder (male: female = 2:1) and foun d accompanying anomalies in 35 (70%) of 50 cases, They included anomal ies of the head and neck (48%), heart (44%), skeleton (22%), genitouri nary tract (24%), central nervous system (10%), gastrointestinal tract (6%), and miscellaneous minor anomalies (8%), Nearly half of our case s (22/50) had at least 2 associated systemic anomalies, Failure to thr ive and psychomotor retardation were found in 5 (10%) and 3 (6%) patie nts, respectively, on follow-up, Three infants died neonatally of seve re heart disorders, and the other one died of central nervous system a nomalies, The above findings indicate that a thorough search for assoc iated anomalies, particularly in the cardiovascular system, should be performed in all newborns with asymmetric crying face. (C) 1997 Wiley- Liss, Inc.