Prenatal and postnatal findings of acrania

Abstract

Introduction: Acrania is a rare congenital anomaly in which the flat bones of the cranial vault are partial or complete absent with complete but abnormal development of the cerebral hemispheres. Case report: We report two cases, diagnosed prenatally by ultrasound and followed by medical pregnancy termination, one with isolated acrania and one with associated cleft lip and palate and spina bifida. Discussion: The acrania pathogenesis is unknown and differential diagnosis should be made with other conditions like anencephaly and acalvaria. Genetic counselling is not easy because there is no evidence for a specific genetic origin, but the extreme rarity and sporadic nature suggests a low recurrence risk. © Springer-Verlag 2004.