Body wall defects in two sibs

We describe 2 sibs, a male fetus with an unusual lumbar hernia and spina bifida occulta, and a female fetus with a median abdominoschisis. The first fetus had some signs of lumbocostovertebral syndrome (LCVS), which consists of a congenital lumbar hernia and associated abnormalities such as absent or hypoplastic ribs, hemivertebrae, and scoliosis. Abdominoschisis has not been described in LCVS, and the given abnormalities in the 2 sibs have not been published to date. One can hypothesize that vascular disruption of a somite or a group of somites may result in the described abdominal wall defects. We conclude that these abnormalities could be coincidental in the 2 sibs or could have a related, probably multifactorial, cause. Am. J. Med. Genet. 73:15–18, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.