Potter syndrome

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Amniotic fluid

Broad nasal bridge

Potter syndrome and Potter phenotype is a complex of findings associated with a lack of amniotic fluid and with kidney failure that develops before an infant is born .

In Potter syndrome the primary defect is kidney failure that occurs before the baby is born, either from failure of the kidneys to develop (bilateral renal agenesis), or from other diseases that cause the kidneys to fail. The kidneys normally produce the amniotic fluid (as urine).

Potter phenotype describes a typical appearance that, in the newborn, is determined by the absence of amniotic fluid (oligohydramnios). In the absence of amniotic fluid, the infant is not cushioned from the walls of the uterus. The pressure of the uterine wall causes a typical facial appearance (Potter’s facies) that includes widely separated eyes with epicanthal folds, broad nasal bridge, low set ears and receding chin.

In addition, because of limited space in the uterus, the limbs may be abnormal, or held in abnormal positions or contractures. Oligohydramnios also stops development of the lungs (hypoplastic lungs), so that at birth the lungs do not function properly.

Review Date: 08/23/2005
Reviewed By: John Goldenring, MD, MPH, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.