Eyes that cannot be seen: a rare case of ankyloblepharon filiforme adnatum (AFA) in a neonate

An infant aged 17 days was presented to our clinic with inability to open both eyes along with facial deformity. The vitals were found to be normal and no other systemic abnormality was recorded. On ocular examination, the child was found to have bilateral ankyloblepharon along with cleft lip and cleft palate. An urgent examination was done under general anaesthesia which revealed ankyloblepharon involving bilateral eye (figure 1A) barring a small area on the medial aspect of both eyelids. A probe was passed from the small …