Facial midline defect in the fetal alcohol syndrome: embryogenetic considerations in two clinical cases

We report on two unrelated patients with fetal alcohol syndrome with hypoplasia of the periocular region, resulting in a low and narrow forehead and hypotelorism. Other typical manifestations of the syndrome involving the facial midline are also present. These observations can be added to clinical and experimental evidence from other authors, supporting the concept that the facial anomalies of the fetal alcohol syndrome are the expression of a midline defect originating from the disruption of the ordered development of midline mesoderm cells during early embryogenesis.