In utero diagnosis of Kleeblattschädel (cloverleaf skull)

Abstract

Kleeblattschädel anomaly, or cloverleaf skull (Comings, 1965) is a name given to a grotesque appearance of the skull resulting from congenital premature synostosis of the various sutures. These will usually include the coronal and lambdoidal sutures. This rare entity is usually diagnosed during the newborn period and is verified by radiological findings. With the advent of ultrasound, and its frequent usage in obtaining bi-parietal diameters, prenatal diagnosis of this skull abnormality is possible, and has recently been reported (Brahman et al. 1979). This communication reports another case of prenatal diagnosis of Kleeblattschädel by ultrasound.