Three Dimensional Microanatomy of the Ophthalmic Artery: Spontaneous Intracranial-Extracranial Anastomosis Site within the Orbital Cavity

Abstract

AIM: The aim was to evaluate three-dimensional structure of the ophthalmic artery (OphA). MATERIAL and METHODS: The raw data of the Three-dimensional Computerized Tomography Angiography (3D-CTA) were transferred to computer and recorded in a software program. RESULTS: The study group consisted of 45 (24 female and 21 male) patients. The mean age of the patients was 56 +/- 9.5 years. It was found that the entry point of the OphA to the orbital cavity was inferior to the optic foramen in 29 (64.44%) of the cases. The length of the postcanalicular-prelacrimal was 0.54 +/- 0.13 centimeters at the right side and 0.51 +/- 0.13 centimeters at the left side. The distance of the postlacrimal-presupraorbital segment was 0.43 +/- 0.11 centimeters at the right and left sides. The location of the anastomosing site was 0.97 +/- 0.42 centimeters from the supraorbital notch. CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed us that this technique could be used in the evaluation of the three-dimensional microsurgical anatomy of the OphA and its critical extracranial-intracranial anastomosing site.