“Three-Dimensional Topography of the Emerging Point of the Ophthalmic Artery.”

Background: During periorbital noninvasive and surgical procedures there is the risk of iatrogenic injury to the emerging point of the ophthalmic artery. This study aimed to determine the three-dimensional location of the emerging point of the ophthalmic artery and to provide clinicians with anatomic information that would help them to avoid associated complications. Methods: Seventeen hemifaces of the emerging point of the ophthalmic artery from 10 Korean and 7 Thai cadavers were dissected and scanned by a three-dimensional scanner. The emerging points of the ophthalmic artery of 30 healthy Korean volunteers were also detected using an ultrasound imaging system. Results: The transverse distance from the medial canthus to the emerging of the ophthalmic artery was 3.8±1.0 mm medially, while the vertical distance was 14.0±2.9 mm superiorly. The transverse distance from the midline was 16.5±1.7 mm to the emerging point of the ophthalmic artery and 20.0±2.0 mm to the medial canthus. The measured depth from the skin surface to the emerging point of the ophthalmic artery was 4.8±1.7 mm in three-dimensional scanning and 4.5±1.1 mm in ultrasound detection. The vertical distance from the inferior margin of the superior orbital rim to the emerging point of the ophthalmic artery was 5.3±1.4 mm. Conclusions: These data inform clinicians about the anatomic three-dimensional location of the emerging point of the ophthalmic artery, which will help them to avoid iatrogenic injury when they are performing periorbital clinical procedures. Lists of Authors and their participation: * None of the authors have financial or private relationships with commercial, academic, or political organizations or people that could have improperly influenced this research. All cadaveric objects in this study were legally donated to Yonsei Medical Center and Chulalongkorn University. Financial Disclosure Statement: None of the authors has received any financial support for this study. The institutional ethics committee approved the study, and the volunteers provided written informed consents after the study had been fully explained to them (IRB No. 2-2017-0023). Correspondence to: Name: Hee-Jin Kim, Address: Room 601, Division in Anatomy & Developmental Biology, Department of Oral Biology, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Korea. Telephone: +82-2-2228-3067; Fax: +82-2-393-8076 E-mail: hjk776@yuhs.ac ©2018American Society of Plastic Surgeons