Morphometric analysis of the sella turcica in Turkish individuals with different dentofacial skeletal patterns

The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphometric analysis of sella turcica in a Turkish population according to gender, age, and dentofacial skeletal type and to investigate the prevalence of sella turcica shapes in different dentofacial skeletal types.

The lateral cephalometric radiographs of 362 patients (145 males, 217 females) were included and grouped by age, gender, and dentofacial skeletal patterns. Linear dimensions of sella turcica, which include the length, height, and diameter, were measured, and the shapes of sella turcica were evaluated.

The anatomical variants of the sella turcica in this study were normal morphology (39.0%), followed by pyramidal shape (15.5%), double contour of floor (14.6%), oblique anterior wall (14.4%), irregular dorsum sella (8.6%), and sella turcica bridge (8.0%). Significant differences were found between sella turcica shapes and dentofacial skeletal types (p < 0.01). Females had greater diameter size of sella turcica than males (p < 0.01). In addition, the subjects in the 15-21 age group had larger sella turcica depths and diameters than the subjects in the 9-14 age group (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). However, no significant differences were found between age groups in terms of sella turcica lengths (p > 0.05).

Results from this study showed that the sample had a higher rate of morphological variation (39% normal, 61% other types) in comparison with other populations or ethnic groups. The class III patients had more irregularity (notching) types in the posterior part of the dorsum sella and fewer oblique anterior wall types than the others. Linear dimensions and morphological types of sella turcica in this study can be used as reference for additional investigators, such as radiologists, orthodontists, maxillofacial surgeons, and neurosurgeons, to interpret and plan surgical procedures involving the sellar region.