A fetus with meckel-gruber syndrome associated with isomerism

Abstract. Meckel-Gruber syndrome (MKS) is an autosomal recessive lethal malformation. As far as we know, the rate of incidence for the syndrome is 0.02 per 10,000 births. It is estimated that Meckel-Gruber syndrome accounts for 5% of all neural tube defects in Finland. Objective. The aim of this study is to present a case of a fetus with Meckel-Gruber syndrome associated with complete left isomerism. Method. The fetus was obtained after medical interruption of the pregnancy during the fifteenth gestational week. The mother was 36 years old and in a consanguineous marriage. The antenatal ultrasound examination revealed a polymalformative syndrome, leading to a postmortem examination. The fetopathological study of the fetus was conducted at the Centre for Maternity and Neonatology, Tunis, Tunisia, in 2008. Results. The female fetus had a significantly deformed ballooning abdomen, pes equinovarus, flexion of the wrist and a total posterior cleft palate. The central nervous system abnormalities were occipital encephalocele, cystic dilatation of the fourth ventricle, agenesis of corpus callosum and hydrocephalus. The study of the internal organs found dextrocardia, irregular lobulation of the lungs, left isomerism, and polysplenia. The microscopic examination revealed bilateral cystic dilation of the kidneys, fibrous proliferation of the liver and ectasic dilatation of the billiary ducts, representing a ductal plate malformation of the liver. Conclusion. The case is diagnosed with Meckel-Gruber syndrome associated with complete left isomerism, cleft palate and possibly Dandy-Walker syndrome.