A cephalometric study of fetal alcohol syndrome

Analysis of cephalometric radiographs of 12 children with fetal alcohol syndrome corroborated the clinical observation of midfacial deficiency described in patients with this disorder. Contrary to previous reports, however, our data show that this abnormality is not caused by true maxillary hypoplasia but by retrusion of the maxilla. We postulate that this abnormal position is secondary to restricted forward growth of the face, resulting from abnormal brain growth and subsequent shortening of the anterior cranial base.