Renal-hepatic-pancreatic dysplasia and its variants

A family is reported, in which two pregnancies resulted in the birth of a female fetus with multiple congenital anomalies, including renal cystic dyplasia, pancreatic fibrosis with dilated pancreatic duct, and some anomalies of the face and genitalila. The pathology of the second fetus was revealed by prenatal ultrasonographic examination. In the relevant literature 20 additional cases of renal-hepatic-pancreatic dysplasia (RHPD) could be found. It is demonstrated that cystic renal dysplasia associated with pancreatic fibrosis or cystofibrosis (with normal liver) as well as cystic renal dysplasia associated with hepatic fibrosis (with normal pancreas) should be considered as incomplete RHPD variants. In 6 cases out of 22, the infants had some features of the apolysplenia complex, including situs inversus and/or heart defects. The association of RHPD and apolysplenia has been proved to be an autosomal recessively inherited syndrome. Most probably RHPD without apolysplenia represents a separate entity with autosomal recessive mode of inheritance as well.