Weaver syndrome associated with bilateral congenital hip and unilateral subtalar dislocation

Weaver syndrome is a congenital paediatric syndrome characterized by mental, respiratory and musculoskeletal manifestations. The coexisting deformities of the skull, the face, fingers and toes are typical. We report a case of a girl with Weaver syndrome associated with rare bilateral congenital dislocation of the hips associated with congenital hypoplastic talus and subtalar dislocation of her ankle joint.

A 3-year old girl was admitted in our department with typical manifestations of Weaver syndrome, associated with congenital dislocation of bilateral hips, hypoplastic talus and subtalar dislocation of her right ankle. She was in pain while standing upright and incapable of independent walking. Both hips were treated operatively with open reduction and bilateral iliac osteotomy. Two years afterwards she had an open reduction of her talus and extraarticular arthrodesis of her subtalar joint in her right ankle. Six years postoperatively after the hip operations and four years after the ankle operation the girl is ambulant with a painless independent and unaided walking with a mild limp and full range of movements in all the operated joints.

We suggest that children with Weaver syndrome and disabling musculosceletal deformities, particularly affecting their ability to stand up and walk should be treated early, before bone maturity, in order to achieve the best potential musculoskeletal as well as developmental outcome.