Surgical and radiological investigation of the incidence of facial canal dehiscence in chronic otitis media surgery and the anatomical relationship of Canalis nervi facialis with structures of temporal bone

Aim: COM is an inflammatory disease frequently diagnosed in otology clinics. Prolonged exposure to inflammation or accompanying pathologies such as cholesteatoma may cause dehiscence in CNF. The aim of this study is to surgically examine the frequency of CNFD in patients operated for COM, and to investigate its relationship with radiological and anthropometric measurements. Material and Method: In our study, the presence of dehiscence was examined through the surgical reports of 410 patients. Tympanic and mastoid segment lengths of the canalis nervi facialis and second genu angle measurements were taken from the CT images of 197 patients. Craniofacial anthropometric measurements of 197 patients were taken. Participants were divided into two groups as those with and without dehiscence. Results: CNFD was found in 12 of 197 patients included in the study. The mean face height was found less in the group with CNFD than in the group without. The difference between the groups was statistically significant (p=0.013). In our study, although TS, MS lengths and TMA grades were less in the CNFD group, the difference between the groups was not significant. Conclusion: In our study, no difference was found between the groups in terms of radiological measurements. In the dehiscence group, the facial height decreased and the inner canthal distance increased. The statistically significant difference between the groups indicates the importance of craniofacial evaluations of dehiscence.