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A Computed Tomographic Scan Study

Philippe Contencin, MD; Louise Gumpert, MA; Joseph Sleiman, MD; Laurent Possel, MD; Isabelle De Gaudemar, MD; Catherine Adamsbaum, MD

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1999;125:777-781.

Objective  To determine normal values in the size of nasal fossae to better delineate the concept of nasal stenosis in young infants with nasal obstruction and without choanal atresia.

Design  Case series.

Setting  Referral center.

Patients  Consecutive sample of 62 infants (aged 0 to 6 months) with no craniofacial anomalies who underwent conventional axial computed tomography scans for a neurologic disorder.

Intervention  From computer-stored images, the slices taken at the level of the nasal fossae floor and those just above were examined. The length and 10 measurements of the width of the nasal fossae were used to determine normal values.

Results  Most measurements, even the length of the nasal fossae, were positively correlated to the age of the patient (R=.44). In the age 0 to 2 months group, the median length was 29.35 mm (range, 21.3-40.4 mm). It was 31.5 mm in the age 4 to 6 months group (range, 25.3-36.9 mm). The anterior bony aperture seems to be the most accurate distance for the assessment of neonatal nasal fossae stenosis. Its median width was 13.5 mm (range, 8.8-17.2 mm). Large variations characterized the dimensions of the middle nasal fossae and the choanae: median values were 7.6 mm (range, 4.9-13.5 mm) and 14.3 mm (range, 10.8-19.0 mm), respectively.

Conclusions  This study defined the normal range of variation for the main dimensions of the nasal fossae in the horizontal plane. These can be used as a basis for determining nasal stenosis in cases of neonatal obstruction.

From the Departments of Otorhinolaryngology (Drs Contencin, Sleiman, Possel, and De Gaudemar and Ms Gumpert) and Radiology (Dr Adamsbaum), Hôpital Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, AP-HP, Université Paris V, Faculté Cochin–Port-Royal, Paris, France.

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