A 7-year-old female presented with a longstanding history of bilateral hearing loss, more noticeable on the right side. She had a recent diagnosis of Larsen syndrome, and was homozygous for the CHST3 gene, for which the inheritance is autosomal recessive. She did not have a filamin B mutation.\nThere was no evidence of facial dysmorphia, although she had skeletal dysplasia and congenital right-sided hip and knee dislocations. Furthermore, she had previous left hip and knee subluxations, and hallux valgus. Prior echocardiography had revealed thickened aortic valve cusps.\nOn examination, she was noted to have narrow ear canals, with grade 1 microtia. She had bilateral middle ear effusions in keeping with glue ear. After a period of active surveillance, her glue ear resolved, but she continued to have a hearing deficit, with a right-sided mild conductive hearing loss with thresholds of ∼40 dB.\nAt this stage, a computed tomography (CT) scan of the temporal bone was undertaken. The stapes was maloriented on the oval window; however, the other ossicles appeared normal (see Figs and ). There was no middle ear effusion at the time of the CT scan.\nAfter discussions regarding the options for management, she was managed conservatively. She did not require hearing aids.
Patient 5 is a 42-year-old man, the second son of unaffected and non-consanguineous parents. He was born, followed by unremarkable pregnancy, at 40 weeks of gestation with a birth weight of 3,580 g (+0.37 SD), length of 52 cm (+0.19 SD) and OFC of 37 cm (+1.92 SD). At birth, he presented with dislocation of knee joints, anterior dislocation of the tibia, bilateral pronounced club feet, and distinct dislocation of both hips. Facial dysmorphism with a flat face and nose, prominent forehead, telecanthus, and myopia was noted (Fig. ). He had broad distal phalanges of the hands (Fig. ), supernumerary carpal bones, and 13 pairs of ribs. During the neonatal period, knee dislocation was treated with manipulation and cast application. Later, club feet were treated with metatarsal osteotomy with posterior soft tissue release. The correction of feet was maintained with feet orthosis until 14 years of age. An arthrodesis of the right knee joint was performed for chronic pain. He later developed a cervical scoliosis with occipito-craniocervical instability. Cervical spine instability was treated with occipitocervical fusion and a return displacement of the soft palate was conducted. No abnormalities of the cardiovascular system were observed. At the age of 37 years, he developed chronic myeloid leukemia. The patient holds a degree in natural science. He is severely limited in his mobility due to the skeletal abnormalities.