A COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF THE CILIARY AREA OF THE MAXILLARY SINUS MUCOSAAND COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHIC-IMAGES

The ciliary area of the maxillary sinus mucosa and coronal sinus compu ted tomographic (CT) scans were studied in 36 maxillary sinuses of 28 patients with chronic sinusitis. Tissue specimens allowed ciliary surf aces to be observed under scanning electron microscopy, allowing surfa ces to be expressed in terms of ciliary area (CA) as the percentage of mucosal surface occupied by cilia. The opacity produced by mucosal sw elling and secretion in the maxillary sinus on CT was assessed by two methods: Min's and modified van der Veken's methods. Both techniques i ndicated an inverse correlation between opacity of the maxillary sinus and CA. Our findings suggest that the opacify of maxillary sinus on C T could be a significant parameter for predicting the surface conditio ns of ciliated maxillary mucosa prior to sinus surgery.