Focal dermal hypoplasia.

A case of focal dermal hypoplasia (FDH) or Goltz syndrome is described. The patient is a black female infant whose syndrome was first diagnosed at birth. This is a disorder of the mesoectoderm which is manifested by pigmentary skin changes similar to other disease entities, eg, incontinentia pigmenti and Rothmund-Thomson disease, but it is easily confirmed by specific significant histologic findings. The characteristic features are all noted in this infant throughout her follow-up, viz, atrophy and linear pigmentation of the skin, localized alopecia, papilloma and marked syndactyly. FDH is an X-linked condition and any physician caring for children should consider this diagnosis of the illness of the patient (especially female) who presents with the above dermal and skeletal changes.