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Frontal sinus pneumatisation: an isolated finding or a sign of concomitant anatomical variation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2022

K H Badran Open the ORCID record for K H Badran [Opens in a new window] ,
A Tarifi ,
A Shatarat  and
D Badran
K H Badran*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
A Tarifi
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Hashemite University, Zarqa, Jordan
A Shatarat
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Histology, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
D Badran
Affiliation:
Department of Anatomy and Histology, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan
*
Corresponding author: Dr Khaled Hassan Badran; Email: Badran99@hotmail.com
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Abstract

Objective

To determine the association between frontal sinus pneumatisation and concomitant anatomical variations in paranasal sinuses as seen on computed tomography.

Methods

A total of 403 patients who underwent paranasal sinus computed tomography were allocated to three groups according to the degree of frontal sinus pneumatisation (type 1 – hypoplasia; type 2 – medium size; and type 3 – hyperplasia). In this unique model, the prevalence of ipsilateral variations on paranasal sinuses on each side of the head were analysed separately within each pneumatisation group.

Results

The type 3 frontal sinus pneumatisation group showed a greater association with ipsilateral variations of the sphenoid bone. Variations included pneumatisation of the anterior clinoid process, lateral sphenoid recess, pterygoid process and greater wing, and exposure of Vidian canal. This group also showed significant associations with male gender, and the presence of frontal and Onodi cells.

Conclusion

Interpretation of the paranasal sinus variations is imperative for pre-operative evaluation in functional endoscopic sinus surgery, particularly in patients with frontal sinus hyperplasia. Attention to variation on the ipsilateral side is informative.

Keywords

Paranasal sinusescomputed X ray tomographyhumananatomynasal cavityskull base

Information

Type
Main Article
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 137 , Issue 10 , October 2023 , pp. 1097 - 1101
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of J.L.O. (1984) LIMITED

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Footnotes

Dr K H Badran takes responsibility for the integrity of the content of the paper

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