Case report 717. Osteodysplasty (Melnick-Needles syndrome)

Herein reported is a patient with the typical osseous features of osteodysplasty, Melnick-Needles type, except for changes in the hands. Shortening of the distal phalanges is one of the reported features of this syndrome, while elongated phalanges are characteristic of frontometaphyseal dysplasia. The elongated proximal and middle phalanges of the hands in our case are similar to those changes found in frontometaphyseal dysplasia, suggesting some similarity in these two disorders. However, it must be remembered that other radiological features described in the text establish the entity of Melnick-Needles syndrome.