1. Three-Dimensional Computed Tomographic Study on the Periorbital Branches of the Ophthalmic Artery: Arterial Variations and Clinical Relevance
- Author
-
Wen-Feng Zhan, Sheng-Kang Luo, Cheng-En Luo, Hai-Bin Wang, Wei-Rui Zhao, and Xiang-Xue Kong
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Embolism ,External carotid artery ,Facial artery ,Cosmetic Techniques ,030230 surgery ,Ophthalmic Artery ,Young Adult ,03 medical and health sciences ,Imaging, Three-Dimensional ,0302 clinical medicine ,Dermal Fillers ,medicine.artery ,Cadaver ,medicine ,Humans ,Forehead ,business.industry ,Anatomic Variation ,General Medicine ,Anatomy ,Middle Aged ,Superficial temporal artery ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Ophthalmic artery ,Female ,Surgery ,Internal carotid artery ,Tomography, X-Ray Computed ,business ,Orbit ,Transverse facial artery ,Orbit (anatomy) - Abstract
Background Filler injection is a popular cosmetic procedure, but it can entail vascular complications. Periorbital injections have the highest risk within the entire injection area. Objectives The authors sought to systematically screen for periorbital arterial variations prior to treatment. Methods The external carotid arteries of 10 cadaveric heads were infused with adequate lead oxide contrast. The facial and superficial temporal arteries of another 11 cadaveric heads were injected with the contrast in sequential order. Computed tomography (CT) scanning was performed after injection of contrast, and 3-dimensional (3D) CT scans were reconstructed using validated algorithms. Results Three types of periorbital blood vessels were found to derive from the ophthalmic artery, including 30% directly originating from the ophthalmic artery, 65% originating from its trochlear branch, and 5% originating from its supraorbital branch. In the forehead, the ophthalmic artery, originating from the internal carotid arteries, formed anastomoses between the frontal branch of the superficial temporal artery, originating from the external carotid artery, with the deep and superficial branches of the supratrochlear and supraorbital arteries, respectively. The lateral orbit and malar plexus can be classified into 4 types based on the trunk artery: the zygomatic orbital artery (27%), the transverse facial artery (23%), the premasseteric branch of the facial artery (19%), and all 3 contributing equally (31%). Conclusions Postmortem 3D CT can map periorbital arterial variations. The branching pattern of the ophthalmic artery, the ophthalmic angiosome in the forehead, and the distribution of the lateral orbit and malar plexus were identified at high resolution to guide clinical practice.
- Published
- 2018