Treacher Collins syndrome (TCS) is characterized by bilateral and symmetric downslanting palpebral fissures, malar hypoplasia, micrognathia, and external ear abnormalities. Hypoplasia of the zygomatic bones and mandible can cause significant feeding and respiratory difficulties. About 40%-50% of individuals have conductive hearing loss attributed most commonly to malformation of the ossicles and hypoplasia of the middle ear cavities. Inner ear structures tend to be normal. Other, less common abnormalities include cleft palate and unilateral or bilateral choanal stenosis or atresia. Typically intellect is normal.

Nager syndrome is the prototype for a group of disorders collectively referred to as the acrofacial dysostoses (AFDs), which are characterized by malformation of the craniofacial skeleton and the limbs. The major facial features of Nager syndrome include downslanted palpebral fissures, midface retrusion, and micrognathia, the latter of which often requires the placement of a tracheostomy in early childhood. Limb defects typically involve the anterior (radial) elements of the upper limbs and manifest as small or absent thumbs, triphalangeal thumbs, radial hypoplasia or aplasia, and radioulnar synostosis. Phocomelia of the upper limbs and, occasionally, lower-limb defects have also been reported. The presence of anterior upper-limb defects and the typical lack of lower-limb involvement distinguishes Nager syndrome from Miller syndrome (263750), another rare AFD; however, distinguishing Nager syndrome from other AFDs, including Miller syndrome, can be challenging (summary by Bernier et al., 2012).