Meige disease (familial lymphedema praecox) and cleft palate: report of a family and review of the literature.

This is a report of a family with lymphedema praecox and cleft palate. The mother had only lymphedema of the lower extremities; she gave birth to five sons, 3 of whom had both lymphedema of the lower extremities and cleft palate. Others have reported similar associations in the literature without calling attention to their relationship. In familial cases, an autosomal dominant mode of transmission with variable expression has been suggested. A common pathogenetic mechanism that might account for the localized lymphedema and associated cleft palate can only be speculated at this stage of our understanding of the condition.