Estimation of ethmoid roof depth and length of lateral lamella of the cribriform plate, upper attachment of the uncinate process and anterior ethmoid artery in multiplanar reconstructions of Computed Tomography

Objectives: The aim is to assess the relationship of the anterior ethmoid artery with the upper attachment of the uncinate process and their relation with the lateral lamella of the cribriform plate in multiplanar reconstructions (i.e. coronal, axial and sagittal) of Computed Tomography. We measured the depth of the olfactory fossa, the length of the LLCP and determined the most superior attachment of the uncinate process, which designates boundaries of the frontal recess anteriorly, laterally and medially [4, 6]. Methods: All CT examinations were performed with the 320-detector Aquilion ONE CT scanner (Canon Medical Systems, Otawara, Japan). Axial, coronal, sagittal reconstruction were performed with dedicated workstation software (Vitrea Enterprise Suite, version 6.7; Vital images, Minnetonka USA). The Statistica13 software was used for analysis and the results were considered statistically significant at the level of P < 0.05. Results: The most frequent types of UP according to Landsberg-Friedman criteria in the group of men are: type I – 30.77%, type II – 30.77%, type III – 26.92%, type VI – 7.69%, type V – 3.85%, type IV – 0%. In women’s group: type III – 44.12%, type II – 32.35%, type I – 8.82%, type V – 8.82%, type IV – 5.88%, type VI – 0%. The median LLCP length in the anterior-posterior dimension is 13 mm i.e. Yenigun type II on both sides. The median value of depth in the superior-inferior dimension of LLCP in the ethmoid roof is 5 mm i.e. Keros type II on both sides. The mean distance between AEA and UAUP is approximately 9.73 mm and 9.16 mm on the right and left side respectively. Conclusions: The assessment of AEA,UAUP and configuration of the anterior skull base in CT multiplanar reconstructions contributes to optimizing the results of frontal sinus surgery.