Estimation of the 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.

The aim is to assess the relationship of 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 [20,22]. METHODS: All CT examinations were performed using the 320-detector Aquilion ONE CT Scanner (Canon Medical Systems, Otawara, Japan). Axial, coronal,sagittal reconstructions were performed by using dedicated workstation software (Vitrea Enterprice Siute, Version 6.7; Vital Images, Minnetonka USA). The Statistica 13 software was used for the analysis, results were considered statistically significant at the level of p<0,05. RESULTS: The most frequent types of Uncinate Process according to Landsberg- Friedman criteria in group of mens are: type I-30,77%,type II-30,77%, type III-26,92%, type VI-7,69%, type V-3,85%, type IV-0% respectively. 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 measures 13 mm i. e. Yenigun type II on the both sides. The median value of depth in the superior-inferior dimension of the LLCP in the ethmoid roof is 5 mm i.e. Keros type II on both sides. The mean distance between Anterior Ethmoid Artery and Upper Attachment of the Uncinate Process measures approximately 9,73 mm and 9,16 mm on the right and left side respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The assessment of the AEA, UAUP and configuration of the anterior skull base on CT multiplanar reconstructions contribute to optimazing the results of frontal sinus surgery.