 A 2 year old girl presented with left sided facial weakness, an MRI was asked for to look for the brainstem and CP angle. Routine T2 and flare sequences did not show any parankymal abnormality, the brainstem was unremarkable and the CP angles were also unremarkable. Except there was a small rat case cleft cyst in the cellar which appeared hyper intense on T1 and hyper intense on T2 weighted sequences. We also acquired 3D gradient deco sequences to look for the 7th nerve. The 7th and 8th nerves accompany each other in the cistern as well as the internal auditory canal. These are seen as bills bars within the internal auditory canal wherein the facial nerve is located anterior superiorly. The cochlear nerve is located anteriorly and the superior and inferior vestibular nerves are located posteriorly and posteriorly respectively. In our case, it is difficult to visualize the facial nerve on axial flare sequences however on sagittal recon a thin linear structure is seen accompanying the right 8th nerve in the cistern segment thus confirming its presence and on the left side it is absent. CT cuts of the temporal bone were also acquired which show non visualization of left facial canal beyond the genome whereas the right facial canal is well visualized along its entire length thus confirming the diagnosis of congenital facial nerve aplasia. Congenital facial nerve aplasia is a rare condition where the patients present with signs of facial nerve paralysis. It can be unilateral or bilateral characterized by facial asymmetry, incomplete closure of eyelid, deviation of angle of mouth and loss of nasolabial furrow. It can be caused due to intrapartum trauma or can be developmental. In our case, there was no history of intrapartum trauma. Imaging findings The facial nerve itself is not visualized on CT however developmental abnormalities of the facial canal such as hypoplasia or aplasia can be seen provided thin sections of the temporal bone are obtained. On MRI it is essential to acquire 3D gradient echo sequences to image the 7th and 8th nerves within the cistern as well as the canal and as discussed earlier absence of facial nerve has to be demonstrated within the canalicular or cisternal segment.