Severe abnormalities of the pons in two infants with Goldenhar syndrome

We describe 2 cases of Goldenhar syndrome with severe abnormalities of the pons. The first case is a 10-month-old Caucasian female infant. At birth the girl showed polydactyly, labiopalatoschisis, right ear agenesis, left eye coloboma and vertebral anomalies. She also had marked hypotonia, severely reduced movements and respiratory and feeding abnormalities. She required gastrostomy at 5 months and tracheostomy at 7 months. Brain MRI scans showed moderate cerebellar hypoplasia and severe abnormalities of the pons with a congenital cleft. The child died at age 12 months. Case 2 is a Caucasian boy. Clinical signs and presentation were similar to case 1. The child also had severely reduced lacrimation, sweating, with thermoregulation abnormalities. He also underwent gastrostomy at 18 months. The child is now 3 years old and is able to sit only with support. Brain MRI was similar to case 1. The association of Goldenhar syndrome and pons abnormalities in 2 subjects suggests that this is more than a mere coincidence. Further studies and characterization of the genes involved in Goldenhar syndrome are needed to establish an adequate genotype-phenotype correlation.