Prevalence of sphenoid sinus agenesis in adults: a CT scan study.

OBJECTIVE

Sphenoid sinus agenesis is a very rare entity. In this study, we evaluated the CT scans of 1193 patients and detected cases with sphenoid sinus agenesis despite the absence of craniofacial anomalies or syndromes.

METHODS

The CT scans of 1193 patients who had undergone endoscopic sinus surgery in our clinic between 1999 and 2008 were retrospectively evaluated. Of the patients, 652 (54.6%) were female and 541 (45.3%) were male. The mean age of the patients was 32 years (range: 13-75 yrs.).

RESULTS

In this study, we identified eight patients (0.67%) with sphenoid agenesis. Three patients (37.5%) had bilateral, 3 patients (37.5%) had left, and 2 patients (25%) had right sphenoid agenesis. None of the patients had craniofacial anomalies or syndromes.

CONCLUSION

Sphenoid sinus agenesis is rarely seen in the absence of craniofacial anomalies or syndromes. In our study, its incidence was 0.67%. Awareness of sphenoid sinus agenesis and/or hypoplasia is very important, particularly when transphenoidal hypophysectomy is planned.