Caring for someone with this diagnosis? Eleplan keeps diagnoses, medications, documents and every specialist in one plan.
Start free with EleplanW syndrome
ORPHA:2804Malformation syndrome
Also called Pallister-W syndrome
What it is
A rare multiple congenital anomalies/dysmorphic syndrome characterized by moderate to severe intellectual disability, neurologic signs and symptoms (such as seizures, spasticity, strabismus), characteristic dysmorphic facial features (including broad forehead, hypertelorism, downslanting palpebral fissures, broad and flat nasal bridge, midline notch of upper lip, lack of upper central incisors, incomplete oral cleft, and prominent mandible), and acne scars. Hearing impairment, pseudo-bulbar palsy, growth retardation, and skeletal anomalies (camptodactyly, clinodactyly, bilateral cubitus valgus, pes cavus/planus) have also been described.
Key facts
- Prevalence
- <1 / 1 000 000
- Age of onset
- Infancy, Neonatal
- Inheritance
- X-linked recessive
- Classified as
- Malformation syndrome
Prevalence figures describe populations, not individuals, and are often estimates from a single study. Where the figure is an incidence or a birth prevalence, it says so.
Signs and symptoms
Very common80–99%
25- Abnormality of the scalp hair
- Acne
- Agenesis of maxillary central incisor
- Alternating esotropia
- Bilateral tonic-clonic seizure
- Broad nasal tip
- Broad uvula
- Camptodactyly
- Clinodactyly
- Cubitus valgus
- Depressed nasal bridge
- Downslanted palpebral fissures
- Elbow dislocation
- Global developmental delay
- Hypertelorism
- Hypoplasia of the ulna
- Metatarsus adductus
- Pes cavus
- Pes planus
- Prominent forehead
- Radial bowing
- Spasticity
- Submucous cleft hard palate
- Telecanthus
- Upper lip pit
These ranges are how often a sign appears across everyone diagnosed, not a prediction for one person — most people have some of these and not others. Orphanet also records findings that are specifically absent in this disease; those are in the data but not listed here.
ICD-10 codes
ICD-10 has no distinct code for most rare diseases, so many are filed under the nearest available one. A shared code identifies the group, not this disease — the ORPHAcode above is what identifies it.
Related health topics
Reached through the ICD-10 categories this disease is filed under, so these describe the broader group rather than this disease specifically.
Cross-references
Orphadata Science: Free access data from Orphanet. © INSERM 1999. Data version 2026-06-23. Available under CC BY 4.0. This is a reference, not medical advice.
Powered by Eleplan
A rare diagnosis is just the start. Eleplan keeps the whole care plan in one place.
Diagnoses, medications, documents, appointments, and the whole care team — organized and always in sync, so you are not retelling the same story to every new specialist. With Ellie, your AI care assistant, on top of it. Free to start.