A Cadaveric Study of Skeletal Facial Foramina in the Hispanic/Latino Population

Abstract

Clinicians currently follow two surgical guidelines involving skeletal features of the orbit and face to optimize patient care. The first guideline states that along the medial wall of the orbit, the distances between the anterior lacrimal crest, anterior ethmoidal foramen, posterior ethmoidal foramen, and optic canal, follow a “24‐12‐6”mm guideline. The second guideline states that the supraorbital foramen/notch, infraorbital foramen, and mental foramen are equidistant from the midline. Previous studies suggest these two surgical guidelines are not applicable for all ethnicities; however, to our knowledge, no data has been published regarding the accuracy of these guidelines pertaining to the Hispanic/Latino population. A cadaveric study was performed to investigate these skeletal guidelines in the Hispanic/Latino population. Adult male and female cadavers, with no evidence of trauma to the orbit and face, donated to the Human Anatomy Program at UT Health San Antonio were used for this study. To investigate the medial orbital wall “24‐12‐6” guideline, distances between four orbital landmarks (anterior lacrimal crest, anterior and posterior ethmoidal foramina, and optic canal) were measured using a 26‐gauge wire and a Vernier caliper. To investigate whether the supraorbital, infraorbital, and mental foramen, lie within the same sagittal plane, we used a Vernier caliper to measure the distance between each foramen to midline. Our preliminary findings suggest these surgical guidelines may not accurately describe the morphologic characteristics of the Hispanic/Latino bony orbit and face. Preliminary results to date indicate the average distances from the anterior lacrimal crest to the anterior ethmoidal foramen, the anterior ethmoidal foramen to the posterior ethmoidal foramen, and the posterior ethmoidal foramen to the optic canal for Hispanic/Latino orbits (n =5) were 24.4 mm (± 0.686), 16.2 mm (± 2.190), 7.4 mm (± 0.661) respectively. This suggests the anatomy of the Hispanic/Latino boney orbit may differ from the currently accepted “24‐12‐6” surgical guideline. Meanwhile, preliminary data also indicates the average distances from the midline to the supraorbital foramen/notch, infraorbital foramen, and mental foramen for all cadavers studied (94 hemifaces, 47 cadavers) were 26.07 mm (± 3.88), 29.12 mm (± 4.30), 25.46 mm (± 3.15) respectively. This also suggests the currently practiced guideline may not apply to the Hispanic/Latino population. To optimize patient care, it is critical clinicians are aware of ethnic difference between anatomical structures. Our preliminary data is the first to report specific anatomical relationships in the medial orbital wall and facial foramina in the Hispanic/Latino population.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.