Branchio-oculo-facial syndrome: broadening the spectrum

We present 3 individuals, a mother, her son, and an unrelated child, with a number of manifestations reported in the branchio-oculo-facial syndrome (BOFS). The former 2 individuals lacked the ocular and branchial abnormalities normally encountered in this syndrome. However, unilateral renal agenesis was present in the first child, a defect infrequently found in the BOF syndrome. Both the mother and her son also had bilateral supra-auricular sinuses. These defects may represent persistence of the otic vesicle sinus tract. The second child has a mild expression of this condition, among the mildest reported in the literature. The BOFS appears to represent a spectrum involving the development of the optic vesicles, branchial arches, eyes, face, lips, and kidneys. The variations seen in this disorder and the overlap between this condition and the branchio-oto-renal syndrome may represent different mutations within a single gene or may be a contiguous gene deletion syndrome.