Multislice Computed Tomography in the Diagnosis of Superior Canal Dehiscence

Abstract

Computed tomographic imaging alone can be misleading for diagnosis of SSCD. It can overestimate the size of the dehiscence, and it can falsely detect dehiscences. Clinical symptoms and other signs must be clearly indicative before surgery, and MSCT cannot be used exclusively for the diagnosis of SSCD.

Superior canal dehiscence syndrome in children – A case report

“…As an alternative procedure, digital volume tomography (DVT) is increasingly being used in the imaging diagnosis of SCD [32,33]. It is important to note here that the diagnosis of superior semicircular canal dehiscence should not be made solely on the basis of positive imaging, because even fine-layer CT of the temporal bone may generate false positive results and the actual extent of the defect substance is considered too large [34,35].…”

Radiological prevalence of superior and posterior semicircular canal dehiscence in children

“…If intact bone overlying the semicircular canal traverses only part of the voxel, with the remainder occupied by soft tissue, the averaged radiodensity will appear low, falsely indicating a dehiscence or overestimating its length. This has been shown in both cadaveric models [20] and at time of surgery [21].…”

Some Remarks on Imaging of the Inner Ear: Options and Limitations

“…In normal-hearing subjects, the average diameter of a cochlear nerve measured from MR images by means of 3D CISS sequences ranges from 1.10 × 1.11 mm (3 T, field of it has a high false-positive rate and thus may be misleading in terms of diagnosis because it overestimates the size of the dehiscence and the prevalence by a factor of 10 [18]. It has to be stated that many patients with the imaging finding of a dehiscent semicircular canal do not suffer from a clinical dehiscence syndrome.…”

“…It has to be stated that many patients with the imaging finding of a dehiscent semicircular canal do not suffer from a clinical dehiscence syndrome. Dehiscence length correlates positively with the maximal air-bone gap in patients with anterior canal dehiscence [18]. Nevertheless, imaging findings must always be considered in the context of clinical signs and symptoms.…”