Van der Woude Syndrome with Short Review of the Literature

Abstract

Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) is a rare autosomal dominant condition with high penetrance and variable expression. Clinical manifestation of this autosomal dominant clefting syndrome includes bilateral midline lower lip pits, cleft lip, and cleft palate along with hypodontia. These congenital lip pits appear as a malformation in the vermilion border of the lip, with or without excretion. Discomfort caused by spontaneous or induced drainage of saliva/mucus when pressure is applied or during a meal as well as poor aesthetic match is one of the main complaints of patients with congenital lip fistula. The pits are treated by surgical resection. Dentists should be aware of the congenital lip pits as in Van der Woude syndrome because they have been reported to be associated with a variety of malformations or other congenital disorders. Here, the authors report a rare case of Van der Woude syndrome with short review of the literature.