Anatomical variations detected in Computed tomography of paranasal sinuses

Abstract

Background: The diseases of the nasal cavity and paranasal sinuses (PNS) are among the most common disorders encountered in clinics of the ear, nose, and throat. Computed tomography (CT) plays an important diagnostic role in patients with sinonasal diseases and determines the treatment.
Objective: To review the anatomical variations of paranasal sinuses and their prevalence detected by computed tomography.
Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out on 185 patients who underwent CT of the nose and PNS. All the studied cases were subjected to CT scanning.
Results: The distribution of the deviated uncinate process among the sides of the nasal cavity showed that 34.5% (19 cases) of cases had it on the right side, 25.5% (14 cases) had it on the left side, and 40% (22 cases) had it bilaterally. Regarding the distribution of maxillary sinus septations, 35.1% (26 out of 74) of cases had bilateral septations, 37.8% (28 out of 74) had septations on the left side, and 27% (20 out of 74) had septations on the right side.
Conclusions: The results underscore the importance of detailed anatomical knowledge, especially for surgical planning in functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS). Discrepancies with prior studies were acknowledged, emphasizing the need for further investigation. Overall, the study contributes valuable insights for optimizing patient care and surgical outcomes in otolaryngology.