Clinical Recognition of FAS:
Difficulties of Detection and Diagnosis.
by Jon M Aase, MD
Jon M. Aase, MD, is clinical associate of pediatrics at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The following photographs are from the clinical practice of Dr. Aase.
Newborn baby boy with pronounced features of FAS and severe heart disease. Birthweight and length less than 5th percentile for gestational age.
Six-year-old boy with growth deficiency, small headsize, small palpebral fissures (eye slits), a mildly flattened midface and a drooping left eyelid. His mother died from complications of alcoholism within the first year of his life.
Six-year-old boy with flattened facial profile, unusualear cartilage ("railroad track" ear).
Close-up of midfacial zone in an 11-year-old boyto show the low nasal bridge, short palpebral fissures and epicanthic folds (best seen on his right eye).
Close-up of the lower face of a 11-year-old boy demonstrating a broad, smooth philtrum (the zone between the nose and mouth) with narrowing of the red margin of the upper lip and loss of the normal "cupid's bow" configuration. The nostrils are directed slightly forward, rather than straight down, indicating a slightly short nose.
Mosaic photo of the same girl at 2, 4, and 8 years of age, to show the progression of facial features over time. The facial features of FAS were best seen in this patient when she was 4 years old.
Progressive growth begins to "normalize" the face in the picture at 8 years old.
