Maxillo-nasal dysplasia (Binder syndrome) and associated malformations of the cervical spine

Forty-three patients with maxillo-nasal dysplasia have been subjected to a radiographic examination of the cervical spine. In 44.2 per cent malformations of the cervical vertebrae of a minor or major type were revealed. Dysplasia of the vertebral bodies related to persistence of the chorda dorsalis, a very rare malformation, was found in six cases. No correlation between the incidence or severity of the malformations and the degree of malocclusion of the jaws and facial deformity, characteristic of Binder syndrome, were noted. The maxillo-nasal dysplasia and the spinal malformations probably have a common cause during the embryologic stage.