Peters' anomaly and associated congenital malformations.

We reviewed the clinical findings in 29 patients with Peters' anomaly. There was developmental delay in 15 patients, congenital heart disease in eight patients, external ear abnormalities in five patients, structural defects of the central nervous system in four patients, genitourinary malformations in four patients, cleft lip/palate in three patients, hearing loss in three patients, spinal defects in two patients, and single cases of other less common defects. One patient had fetal alcohol syndrome; one, Pfeiffer's syndrome; and one, short stature, ulnar hypoplasia, and joint laxity. Colobomatous microphthalmia was present in seven patients, and persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous in three patients. Ten patients developed glaucoma, and three had retinal detachment unrelated to ocular surgery. Peters' anomaly may be due to a developmental field defect, or the complex ocular and systemic malformations may be the result of a contiguous gene syndrome or of a defective homeotic gene controlling the development of the eye and other body structures.