Patterson-Lowry rhizomelic dysplasia: a potentially lethal bone dysplasia?

We report a Japanese boy, who is considered as having Patterson-Lowry rhizomelic dysplasia, a rare, as yet undefined, skeletal dysplasia. The diagnosis was warranted by the constellation of skeletal abnormalities - mild platyspondyly, hypoplastic ilia, broad proximal femora with prominent lesser trochanters, mild brachymetacarpalia and, most importantly, rhizomelic shortening of the upper limbs with lateral bowing, medial cortical thickening, and medial metaphyseal notching of the humeri. Our patient, unlike previously reported patients, had respiratory distress and died suddenly of unknown cause in late infancy. Our experience may imply the heterogeneity or phenotypic variability of Patterson-Lowry rhizomelic dysplasia.