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Radiologic analysis of the location, shape and size of the external aperture of the carotid canal in children

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Abstract

Objectives

This retrospective computed tomography (CT) study was aimed to assess the growth dynamic of the external aperture of the carotid canal (EACC) in children aged between 1 and 20 years.

Methods

Two hundred patients (sex 100 females/100 males, average age 10.50 ± 5.77 years) with good head CT image quality were included in this study. CT images of the patients were used to obtain data related to the location, shape and dimension of EACC.

Results

EACC shapes were identified as oval shaped, round shaped, and tear-drop shaped in 58.3% (233 sides), 24% (96 sides) and 17.8% (71 sides), respectively. EACC length, disEACC–MSP (distance between EACC and midsagittal plane), and EACC width did not change from the prepubescence period; while, the disEACC–SC (distance between EACC and supramastoid crest) seemed to reach adult size in the postpubescence period. Linear functions for EACC length and width were calculated as: y = 5.453 + 0.091 × years, and y = 5.398 + 0.059 × years, respectively.

Conclusion

The regression equations of the measured parameters representing the growth dynamic of EACC in children can be helpful to estimate its size, location and angulation, which suggest that the dimension and distances to certain anatomical landmarks seemed to reach adult size in different developmental periods. In this context, the findings of this study may seem to emphasize the importance of preoperative radiological evaluation on skull base, related to EACC, for multidisciplinary surgeon teams during childhood surgeries in terms of patients’ positioning, and the selection of appropriate surgical approach.

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Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

    Barış Ten & Yüksel Balcı

  2. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anatomy, Mersin University, Ciftlikkoy Campus, 33343, Mersin, Turkey

    Orhan Beger & Fatih Çiçek

  3. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

    Meltem Çobanoğulları Direk

  4. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Neurosurgery, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

    Hakan Özalp, Vural Hamzaoğlu & Celal Bağdatoğlu

  5. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Biostatistics, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

    Gülhan Temel

  6. Faculty of Medicine, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey

    Yusuf Vayisoğlu & Derya Ümit Talas

Authors
  1. Barış Ten
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  2. Orhan Beger
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  3. Meltem Çobanoğulları Direk
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  4. Yüksel Balcı
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  5. Fatih Çiçek
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  6. Hakan Özalp
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  7. Vural Hamzaoğlu
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  8. Gülhan Temel
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  9. Yusuf Vayisoğlu
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  10. Celal Bağdatoğlu
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  11. Derya Ümit Talas
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Contributions

BT, OB, YB, FÇ, HÖ, VH, DT, DÜT: project development, data collection, data analysis, manuscript writing, manuscript editing. MÇD, YV, CB: project development, data analysis, manuscript editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Orhan Beger.

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Ten, B., Beger, O., Direk, M.Ç. et al. Radiologic analysis of the location, shape and size of the external aperture of the carotid canal in children. Surg Radiol Anat 42, 749–759 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02448-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-020-02448-0

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