Isaev E.V., Grishina E.E., Egorov V.I., Isaev V.M., Stepanova E.A., Pustovit O.M., Elina M.O. Anatomical features of the lacrimal sac location relative to the ethmoid labyrinth cells in patients with chronic dacryocystitis. Head and neck. Russian Journal. 2022;10(3):37–43
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25792/HN.2022.10.3.37-43
The article describes the results of the nasolacrimal duct computed tomography (CT) (for the period from 2011 to 2021) carried out in patients with chronic dacryocystitis before surgical treatment, in particular, the sizes of the lacrimal sac and the anterior cells of the ethmoid labyrinth (Agger nasi), and their comparison with normal findings.
Material and methods. The study included 28 patients: 5 men and 23 women, aged 21 to 83 years. The median patient age was 53 years. The mean dimensions of the lacrimal sac were as follows: anteroposterior – 7.9 (4.9–18.3) mm, transverse – 6 (2.8–10.6) mm, vertical – 11 (6.4–17.9) mm. For comparison, a study on cadavers conducted in India was used: the width (anteroposterior dimension in the central part of the sac) and length (vertical dimension from the sac bottom to the nasolacrimal canal) of the lacrimal sac reached 3.24 mm (1.9–5.1) and 6.95 mm (5.42–8.9) mm, respectively. Results. The ethmoid labyrinth anatomy assessment showed that the anterior cells of the ethmoid labyrinth (Agger nasi) were completely absent in 3 of 28 patients according to computed tomography. In these patients, the frontal sinuses were also underdeveloped. In 25 cases, the cells were present and had the following dimensions: anteroposterior – 9.55 (5.9–17) mm, transverse – 6.5 (4.1–8.6) mm, vertical – 12.7 (7.6–23, 8) mm.
Key words: Chronic dacryocystitis, endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy, DCR, ethmoid labyrinth cells, ethmoidotomy, lacrimal sac size, Agger nasi cell size
Conflict of interest. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Funding. There was no funding for this study