Congenital hypothalamic hamartoma associated with severe midline defect: a developmental field defect. Report of a case.

We describe a median "cleft" face anomaly (MCFA) with congenital hypothalamic hamartoma in a newborn girl. The MCFA was associated with a frontal midline skull lipoma and a complex congenital heart defect. Possible pathogenetic mechanisms are discussed, and a review of the pertinent literature is given. It is concluded that probably all malformations in our patient are disturbances of a single developmental field defect, ie, the midline.