Amniotic Band Syndrome and Strabismus

Abstract

Three patients with various manifestations of the amniotic band syndrome associated with strabismus are presented and discussed. All three cases demonstrate a paralytic strabismus due to a unilateral paresisparalysis of the medial rectus in one case and of the superior rectus in another. The third case showed a bilateral lateral rectus paralysis. In two cases, the strabismus was accompanied by other ocular manifestations, while in one patient strabismus and amblyopia were the sole ophthalmological findings. In two of the cases, a direct association between the mesodermal bands and the strabismus could be established, while in one case this association might have been incidental. Careful ophthalmological followup and treatment of these cases prevented needless loss of vision while appropriate muscle surgery restored decent cosmetic appearance in one case.

In Utero Models of Craniofacial Surgery

“…Yet many rare lateral facial clefts, particularly those in the zygomatic and maxillary regions, arise outside naturally occurring fusion points. This observation has led to the hypothesis that external restrictive forces such as amnionic bands may create some of these lateral atypical clefts by interfering with normal tissue migration [25][26][27][28].…”

“…Amnionic bands have been shown to cause cell death, tissue ischemia, tissue clefting, and distal tissue loss when they surround a part of the fetus, even in the post-organogenesis phase of gestation. Most of the studies thus far have focused on abnormal limb development, but several case reports of amnionic bands affecting craniofacial development have been described at every gestational age [25][26][27][28][29][30].…”