Facial coloboma: Report of an exceptional prenatal case and interest of three-dimensional ultrasonography

We report a rare case of Tessier no. 4 craniofacial cleft diagnosed by ultrasound imaging at 10 weeks' gestation. Tessier no. 4 craniofacial cleft is a very rare and complex congenital abnormality, characterized by an oblique orbitomaxillary facial cleft. Prenatal diagnosis of orofacial clefting is usually done at midtrimester of pregnancy, based on careful sonographic examination of the fetal face. However conventional 2D ultrasound is limited in screening isolated cleft palate and defects of the secondary palate. Thus, 3D ultrasound shows a greater sensitivity in a referred population and antenatal evaluation of facial clefs. (C) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.