title: Cephalometric assessment of soft tissue morphology of patients with acromegaly.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the sagittal soft tissue morphology of patients with acromegaly in comparison with a healthy control group.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-seven patients with acromegaly (11 male, 16 female; mean age 47.3 ± 11.5 years) and 30 healthy subjects (15 male, 15 female; mean age 42.2 ± 17.4 years) were included in the study. Linear and angular measurements were made on lateral cephalograms to evaluate soft tissue and skeletal characteristics. The intergroup comparisons were analysed with the Student's t-test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Facial convexity (p < 0.01) and the nasolabial angle (p < 0.001) were reduced in patients with acromegaly, whereas nose prominence (p < 0.01), upper lip sulcus depth (p < 0.01), upper lip thickness (p < 0.01), basic upper lip thickness (p < 0.01), lower lip protrusion (p < 0.05), mentolabial sulcus depth (p < 0.05) and soft tissue chin thickness (p < 0.001) were increased. Anterior cranial base length (p < 0.05), the supraorbital ridge (p < 0.01), the length of the maxilla and mandible (p < 0.001, p < 0.01, respectively) were significantly increased, and mandibular prognathism was an acromegalic feature (p < 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Acromegalic coarsening and thickening of the craniofacial soft tissues was identified from lateral cephalograms, which may therefore contribute to early diagnosis when evaluated together with other changes caused by the disease.
authors.forename: Nehir Canigur
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Bavbek
authors.forename: Burcu Balos
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Tuncer
authors.forename: Cumhur
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tuncer
authors.forename: Kahraman
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gungor
authors.forename: Cigdem
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ozkan
authors.forename: Emre
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Arslan
authors.forename: Alev Eroglu
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Altinova
authors.forename: Mujde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akturk
authors.forename: Fusun Balos
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Toruner
mesh_terms: D000172:Acromegaly / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D002508:Cephalometry / Q000379:methods*; D002680:Chin / Q000473:pathology; D005145:Face / Q000473:pathology*; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008046:Lip / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible / Q000473:pathology; D008437:Maxilla / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009295:Nasal Bone / Q000473:pathology; D009666:Nose / Q000473:pathology; D009915:Orbit / Q000473:pathology; D011378:Prognathism / Q000473:pathology; D019291:Skull Base / Q000473:pathology; D014716:Vertical Dimension