W syndrome

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W 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

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

Q87.8filed under a broader ICD-10 category — shared with 581 other rare diseases

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

GARD 358MEDDRA 10084236MESH C538106MONDO 0010708OMIM 311450UMLS C0796110

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.

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