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Classification and volumetric study of the sphenoid sinus on MDCT images

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Abstract

Purpose

We aimed to determine the position and size of the sphenoid sinus (SS) in our study and compare the results of the measurements relative to age, gender, and the presence of pituitary adenoma using multidetector computerized tomography (MDCT).

Methods

We retrospectively evaluated the paranasal sinus computerized tomography (CT) images of 200 individuals (age range of all the individuals 4–84 years; 101 females, 99 males; age range of individuals with pituitary adenoma 15–63 years; 15 females, 9 males) with 24 pituitary adenomas. The shape of SS were identified and classified, volume were measured by MDCT also for individuals with pituitary adenoma.

Results

It was determined that the volume averages were significantly affected by the type of SS. Among all the individuals studied, the sellar type of SS was most frequently observed (41.5%), followed by the postsellar type (38.5%), and the least observed was the presellar type (9%). The volume of the SS is bigger in males than females although the volume is not affected by the presence of pituitary adenomas. The development of the SS continues until the age of nine.

Conclusion

The morphology and morphometry of the SS show individual differences. These anatomic variations are important for decision making and application for surgical interventions (especially transsphenoidal surgery).

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Assistant Professor Neriman Akdam for her work on the statistical analysis.

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. Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Selcuk University, 42130, Konya, Turkey

    Busra Pirinc, Zeliha Fazliogullari, Nadire Unver Dogan & Ahmet Kagan Karabulut

  2. Baytuna Health Services Konya, Konya, Turkey

    Ibrahim Guler

  3. Department of Anatomy, Meram Faculty of Medicine, Necmettin Erbakan University, 42080, Konya, Turkey

    Ismihan Ilknur Uysal

Authors
  1. Busra Pirinc
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  2. Zeliha Fazliogullari
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  3. Ibrahim Guler
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  5. Ismihan Ilknur Uysal
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  6. Ahmet Kagan Karabulut
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zeliha Fazliogullari.

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Conflict of interest

None of the authors have a personal conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethical approval (approval number 2016/205) was given by the Non-Intervention Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Medical Faculty.

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A formal informed consent procedure was waived due to the retrospective nature of this study.

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Pirinc, B., Fazliogullari, Z., Guler, I. et al. Classification and volumetric study of the sphenoid sinus on MDCT images. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 276, 2887–2894 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05549-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-019-05549-8

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