Nasal, sellar, and sphenoid sinus measurements in relation to pituitary surgery.

A study of 24 adult Caucasian cadavers was undertaken to assess and document the anatomical measurements within the nasal cavity and sphenoid sinus as routes of instrumentation utilized in sublabial transsphenoidal and endonasal endoscopic approaches. Five measurements were performed. The mean thickness of the anterior sellar wall was 0.8 +/- 0.3 mm for both the sellar and presellar types of sinuses, respectively. Also, the mean thickness of the bony floor of the sellar type of sinus was 0.9 +/- 0.4 mm. In addition, the mean depth of the sphenoid sinus was 13.6 +/- 5.1 mm for the sellar type and 13.2 +/- 3.9 mm for the presellar type of sinus. Furthermore, the mean distance between the suspinale (inferior-posterior edge of the anterior nasal spine) and the anterior sphenoid wall was 62.3 +/- 4.6 mm for the sellar type of sinus (P < 0.05) and 60.6 +/- 2.9 mm for the presellar type of sinus, while the distance between the subspinale and the anterior sellar wall had a mean value of 75.9 +/- 6.3 mm for the sellar type of sinus (P < 0.05) and 73.8 +/- 4.2 mm for the presellar type of sinus, with the distance of the sellar type sinus being greater for male specimens. Sphenoid sinus pneumatization was of a conchal type in 4%, presellar type in 28%, and sellar type in 68% of subjects examined. The results of the current study expand upon current anatomical knowledge and may be beneficial in the future refinement of surgical instrument design.

Psychometric properties of the EORTC head and neck-specific quality of life questionnaire in disease-free Greek patients with cancer of pharynx and larynx.

PURPOSE: The purpose of our study was to formally translate to and determine the psychometric properties of QLQ-H&N35 in a group of Greek patients who had been successfully treated for laryngeal or pharyngeal cancer. METHOD: The Greek translation of the questionnaire was performed according to the instructions of EORTC Quality of Life group as described in the translation manual. The procedure included forward and backward translations followed by a pilot study and was reported and accepted by the EORTC Quality of Life group. In a cross-sectional study, the translated EORTC QLQ-H&N35 in conjunction with the core EORTC QLQC30 questionnaire was given to 116 patients who had been successfully treated for cancer of larynx or pharynx. RESULTS: The compliance was high, and the QLQ-H&H35 demonstrated acceptable reliability (internal consistency) and construct validity. The questionnaire had the ability to distinguish between patients with different performance status, site, treatment modality, and disease stage. CONCLUSION: The Greek version of EORTC H&N35 in conjunction with the EORTC C30 is a valid and informative tool in assessing quality of life in Greek patients with cancer of larynx and pharynx.

The tympanic segment of the facial nerve: anatomical study.

There is a conroversy in the literature about the length of the proximal tympanic segment of the facial nerve (PTSFN). The objective of the current study is to measure the length of the tympanic segment of the facial nerve (TSFN) and of its proximal (PTSFN) and distal (DTSFN) segments, in normal human temporal bones. Moreover, we will explore if these lengths are correlated. If a form of a functional relationship can be established, it could offer insights in partially predicting or estimating the length of the TSFN as well as of its proximal and distal portions. Direct measurements were obtained in 40 normal human temporal bones, which were examined by surgical dissection. Relationships between these measurements were established using Pearson's correlation method (two-tailed). The length of the TSFN was on average 10.97 mm. The length of the PTSFN was on average 5.25 mm and of the DTSFN was 5.72 mm. No significant statistical differences according to gender or side (right or left) were detected. It was determined that the length of the TSFN was in linear correlation with positive direction with its proximal (PTSFN) and distal (DTSFN) segments. Also the PTSFN length was in linear correlation with positive direction with the DTSFN length. The length of the PTSFN comprises about one-half of the TSFN length. The existence of a definite correlation between the lengths of the TSFN, PTSFN, and DTSFN implies the existence of a form of functional interrelationship. This could facilitate prediction and identification of the TSFN and PTSFN lengths from the easily identifiable DTSFN length during surgery.