Background: Airway insufficiency decreases quality of life and may be life threatening in patients with Treacher Collins syndrome. The authors calculated the three-dimensional nasal airway volume in patients with Treacher Collins syndrome to identify correlations between nasal airway volume and craniofacial morphology and provide guidance for surgical planning.
Methods: Thirty nonoperated patients with Treacher Collins syndrome were compared with 35 unaffected age- and gender-matched controls. Anatomic variables of the cranial base, the maxilla complex, and internal diameters of nasal airway were compared between patients and control subjects using three-dimensional craniometric analyses. In the Treacher Collins group, the relation of craniofacial morphology to nasal airway volume was assessed separately. Statistical analyses were performed using independent sample t tests and Pearson correlation coefficient analyses.
Results: Nasal airway volume was decreased 38.6 percent in patients with Treacher Collins syndrome relative to controls (p = 0.001). A positive correlation of maxillary position and nasal airway volume was shown in Treacher Collins patients (r = +0.463, p = 0.013). Maxillary, nasal bone, and orbitale width were also positively correlated with nasal airway volume (r = +0.582, p = 0.001; r = +0.408, p = 0.035; and r = +0.677, p < 0.001, respectively). Shortened internal diameters of the nasal airway all positively correlated with nasal airway volume.
Conclusions: Nasal airway volume is reduced in patients with Treacher Collins syndrome. Reduced projection of the maxilla and transverse maxillary deficiency are correlated with reduced nasal airway volume and are primarily responsible for obstruction of the nasal airway.
Clinical question/level of evidence: Risk, II.