EVALUATION OF THE BONE RESISTANCE OF THE SPHENOID AND ETHMOID SINUSES

Functional endoscopic sinus surgery can be associated with iatrogenic complications. Some anatomical structures have been identified this cl inically as specific danger sites, The aim of this study was to confir m and to compare these clinical data with measurements of the bone res istance of the sphenoid and ethmoid walls and to point out regions tha t have increased bony fragility Critical dynamometric evaluation of th e resistance to breakage of these bony structures was made on 21 anato mic specimens, This study allowed the authors to localization of surgi cal complications, to demonstrate that other regions renowned for thei r fragility can be relatively robust, and to point out that robust sit es can be dangerously fragile as a result of individual morphological variations. Results from this study provide a supplement to the guidel ines for novice surgeons to use in identifying dangerous areas.