Variant septation of the sphenoid sinus in adult Nigerians: CT study

Abstract

Preoperative evaluation of the sphenoid sinus septa is mandatory for safe endoscopic endonasal transsphenoidal surgery. This study aimed at elucidating the variant septation of the sphenoid sinus using computed tomographic images of adult patients. This observational study retrospectively evaluated 336 brain Computed Tomographic images of adult patients seen in a Nigerian Teaching Hospital. The study was approved by the Research Committee of the Hospital. The presence, number, location and attachment of the sphenoid sinus septum were studied and recorded. Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 23 was used to analyze the prevalence of the variants and compare them based on gender and side using the Chi-square test. The level of significance was considered at p<0.05. The prevalence of a single complete septum was 179 (53.3%), while double and multiple septa had a frequency of 88 (26.2%) and 69 (20.5%) respectively. The complete septum was predominantly located in the paramedian position (185, 69.3%). The septa attached onto the carotid canal and optic canal in 91 (27.1%) and 46 (13.7%) patients respectively. The multiple and double septa had a high predilection for the carotid (52, 75.4%) and optic (32, 36.4%) canal insertions respectively. These patterns of septation did not show any significant relationship with gender or side (P>0.05). The single septum was the most prevalent and frequent in the paramedian location, while multiple and double septa commonly insert onto the carotid and optic channels respectively.