THE USE OF COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN THE PREOPERATIVE PLANNING OF HORSES WITH SINUS DISEASE

摘要

Clinical signs of sinus disease can include nasal discharge, foul smell, facial deformity and respiratory noise. Although an accurate diagnosis can be made using conventional imaging modalities such as radiography (Figure 1) and nasal endoscopy, in certain cases these fail to give the surgeon an accurate idea regarding the extent of the lesion and the structures affected. This in part might be responsible for the relatively high percentage of cases, as high as 47%, that develop complications following surgical treatment. Other imaging modalities, such as sinoscopy and nuclear scintigraphy can provide useful information although not without limitations. Perkins and colleagues recently reported on their experience in horses suffering from sinus disease at the level of the ventral conchal and rostral maxillary sinus using conchofrontal sinoscopy with fenestration of the ventral conchal bulla.