A case of Cantrell syndrome diagnosed in the first trimester.

Here, the authors report a case of Cantrell's syndrome which was diagnosed by ultrasound at 12th week of pregnancy and confirmed by autopsy. Cantrell syndrome/pentalogy is defined as congenital combination of five main distinctive components: defects at the lower part of the sternum, anterior diaphragm, midline supraumbilical abdominal wall, diaphragmatic pericardium, and ectopia cordis. In the present case, in addition to these anomalies, there was cleft palate and cleft lip at the midline. Association of cleft lip and palate with Cantrell's syndrome may be due to the extension of defective migration of mesodermal primordial structures, which is mainly in abdomen and thorax, towards facial structures. Therefore, in prenatal diagnosis facial anomalies should be examined carefully in all cases with Cantrell syndrome.