What is OAVS?

Also known as: craniofacial microsomia, Hemifacial Microsomia, Goldenhar syndrome, facio-auriculo-vertebral spectrum, and oculo-auriculo-vertebral dysplasia.

If a baby is born with the tissue on one side of the face underdeveloped, this is known as hemifacial microsomia. It’s a birth defect that can have implications beyond just the physical abnormalities.

This condition goes by many names including hemifacial microsomia, craniofacial microsomia, Goldenhar syndrome, facio-auriculo-vertebral spectrum, and oculo-auriculo-vertebral dysplasia. The different names arose initially because different people used their own clinical descriptions for what was later found to represent one condition that can include a large spectrum of clinical findings.

Some individuals will have many of the findings and others a few. Therefore, the condition is now called “oculo-auriculovertebral spectrum” (OAVS).


Reviewed by: Saoussen Salhi, MD

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM

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