Congenital Malformations: Report of 5 Rare Cases Seen in 20 Years (1994-2014) in Cameroon and Review of Literature

A congenital malformation (CM) is a congenital structural defect that often occurs in the first trimester. Although significant progress has been made in identifying the etiology of some birth defects, approximately 65% have no known or identifiable cause [1-3]. For 20-25% of anomalies there seems to be a "multifactorial" cause, involving a complex interaction of multiple minor genetic anomalies with environmental risk factors. Another 10-13% of anomalies have a purely environmental cause (e.g. infections, illness, or drug abuse in the mother). Only 12-25% of anomalies have a purely genetic cause. Of these, the majority are chromosomal anomalies [4]. CMs are of random occurrence regardless of maternal living conditions and a low recurrence risk for future children.