Waardenburg's syndrome with bilateral cleft lip.

DURING recent years a number of reports1-7have shown that Waardenburg's syndrome, once believed to occur only in Dutch people, does occur in many ethnic groups. The colorful characteristics of this syndrome (white forelock, heterochromia iridum, and confluent eyebrows) confers on affected individuals a very peculiar facies. The importance of the syndrome, however, lies in another less common manifestation, deafness, and this fact prompted Waardenburg8to search for such anomalies in an institution for deaf mutes. The purpose of this report is to present a newborn with this syndrome in association with a bilateral cleft lip and deafness. Report of a Case The patient was a 3,900 gm (8 lb 13 ounces) Negro girl born to a 42-year-old deaf mute woman. On initial examination of the infant (color Fig 1), the positive physical findings were a white forelock, broad nasal root, marked dystopia canthorum, square face, bilateral cleft