Three-dimensional anatomical analysis of the perpendicular plate of ethmoid among Chinese and its safety harvesting range in rhinoplasty

Abstract

Objective To investigate the morphology and structure of the perpendicular plate of ethmoid and measure its anatomical parameters among Chinese population. To discuss the safety range of harvesting perpendicular plate of ethmoid in rhinoplasty. Methods Sixty-four healthy Chinese were included in accordance with certain requirements and their paranasal sinus was examined using 64 slices computed tomography (CT). The three-dimensional (3D) structure of their perpendicular plate of ethmoid was reconstructed, and the area, length, height and thickness were measured by Mimics 17.0 software. Statistical analysis was completed by SPSS 22.0 software and was checked out by t-test. Results According to the result from 3D anatomical analysis, the length of the anterior border of perpendicular plate of ethmoid was (28.58±2.91) mm, the inferior border was (26.17±5.76) mm and the posterior border was (19.84±3.17) mm. The thickness of the anterior border three sections were (3.07±0.72) mm, (3.09±0.73) mm and (1.75±0.55) mm respectively. The thickness of the inferior border in three sections were (1.96±0.62) mm, (1.94±0.73) mm and (1.87±0.67) mm, respectively. The length of the middle and lower third of the perpendicular plate of ethmoid anterior border was (10.04±2.39) mm. As to the superior border, the length was (35.31±6.52) mm. The total area of the perpendicular plate of ethmoid was (1 057.85±184.38) mm2, the lower section area was (474.09±109.60) mm2, and the ratio of middle and lower third to the total area was 0.45±0.07. Conclusions The thickness of the lower 1/3 segment of the vertical plate of the ethmoid bone is thinner than that of the upper segment, and it is far away from the skull base, which is easily to harvest and meet the application in surgery. Key words: Ethmoid bone; Perpendicular plate; Rhinoplasty; Digital anatomy; Three-dimensional reconstruction