Cyclopia, a newborn with a single eye, a rare but lethal congenital anomaly: A case report

Cyclopia is a rare congenital disorder characterized by facial abnormalities. In this condition, the orbits of the eye are not properly divided into two cavities so that they can be seen either as a single eye field or two bilateral fields that are very close to each other. This syndrome affects the embryos that are either aborted or stillborn upon delivery or, at best, die shortly after birth.

This case report is of a 37-week- and 5-day-old female fetus with a birth weight of 2300 g, a height of 43 cm, and a head circumference of 31 cm. She was born to a 44-year-old mother through normal vaginal delivery at Mahzad Hospital, Urmia, Iran. In the physical examination, an eye and a 4-cm proboscis were seen in the middle of the forehead. The newborn also had no nose, and his outer ears were normal. No cleft lip or cleft palate was observed. Unfortunately, the newborn expired 13 h after birth.

Cyclopia leads to a stillbirth since the brain and other parts of the body do not grow normally in fetuses with this disorder. Moreover, it can be diagnosed using ultrasonography while the fetus is growing inside the uterus.

Early diagnosis during pregnancy using diagnostic methods and proper management of this abnormality should be emphasized to prevent further harm to the newborn and the mother with this syndrome. Moreover, many of these newborns should be offered early neonatal palliative care.