Persistent anterior fontanel in a healthy 4-year-old child

Abstract

After 18 months, the open anterior fontanel (AF) persistence has been described in several neurological, genetic and metabolic disorders. Nevertheless, there are few healthy children published reports where the fontanel closure occurred later than expected. The case of a 4.2-year-old male child will be reported with persistent AF and it was perceived as a normal variation after anamnesis, physical exam and laboratory investigations. It is important to know the several syndromes, diseases and exposure to toxic substances that may cause AF closure delay; since through clinical evaluation, few laboratory tests and neuroimaging we can confirm the possibility of a simple but rare normal variation.

Keywords

Anterior fontanel - cranium - fontanel delayed closure - ossification - skull