A 68-year-old female presented with rare brainstem schwannoma manifesting as right hemiparesis, diplopia, and dysphagia. Neuroimaging revealed a lesion in the pons and cerebral peduncle, which was supposed to be a highly malignant glioma. The mass was approached via a single-flap orbitozygomatic craniotomy through an anteromedial pericavernous approach. Intraoperative frozen-section specimens indicated glioma, but the tumor was distinct from the surrounding parenchyma, and could be removed successfully. A tumor capsule was found and also removed. Postoperative histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural examinations confirmed the diagnosis of benign schwannoma. Most schwannomas, even in the brainstem, are benign and complete removal may be curative.

We report two sibs with the SC phocomelia syndrome with typical facial appearance and bilateral absence or extreme hypoplasia of the fibula, radius, and thumb. One sib had bilateral humero-ulnar and femoro-tibial synostosis (absence of the elbow and knee joints). Application of the nosologic criteria of Herrmann and Opitz showed that there was no significant intrafamilial variation in phenotype. Chromosome analyses in both patients showed heterochromatic puffing and centromere separation involving many chromosomes, an observation that has previously been reported in patients with SC phocomelia and Roberts syndromes. More important, this finding will have significance in prenatal detection of a certain proportion of cases with these syndromes without resorting to the use of radiographic examinations.

Dermatoglyphics of 19 male and 23 female patients with fetal alcohol syndrome were compared with those of matched controls. Both male and female patients differed in several of the dermatoglyphic characteristics from their sex-matched controls. The abnormalities of dermatoglyphics reported here constitute a valuable marker trait of the teratogenic effect of the alcohol on fetal development and provide additional diagnostic signs for the fetal alcohol syndrome.