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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Manipulating the mobile stapes during tympanoplasty: the risk of stapedial luxation.

Manipulating the mobile stapes is a central procedure during tympanoplasty, i.e., mounting a prosthesis onto the stapedial head or dissecting cholesteatoma matrix off the oval window niche. An excessive displacement of the stapedial suprastructure as caused by these manipulations with hand-held instruments might result in a rupture of the annular ligament. Bacteria invading through this perilymphatic fistula threaten the inner ear. In experiments with temporal bones, the author investigated the rupture mechanisms of the annular ligament with definite stapedial manipulations. Leaks, which became detectable by exerting pressure on the inner ear fluid, occur only when all suspension fibers are completely ruptured. Further clinical aspects with different directions of stapedial manipulations are demonstrated.

Cochlear Diseases

Prosthesis on a mobilized stapes footplate.

Managing a mobilized footplate in stapedectomy surgery can be challenging. Between 1963 and 1992, 145 footplates were inadvertently mobilized during otosclerosis surgery. After a vein graft, a 4.0-mm Robinson prosthesis was placed on all footplates, making no attempt to remove the footplate. There were 73 thin, blue footplates and 72 thick, white footplates. Hearing results in the thin, blue footplate group was 97% successful and 100% satisfactory at 3 years. No footplate refixed. In the thick, white group, hearing was 60% successful and 72% satisfactory at 6 months. Footplate refixation was found at revision in all but one unsuccessful case. After revision, the thick, white group had 79% successful and 89% satisfactory hearing results at 3 years. No patient in either group was worse. We conclude that placing a vein graft and a Robinson prosthesis is a safe and effective technique for a mobilized footplate. If the footplate is thin and blue, there is little or no risk of refixation. If the footplate is thick and white, approximately 30% will require revision.

Follow-Up Studies

Surgery for congenital anomalies of the middle ear with mobile stapes.

In a series of 104 patients with congenital middle ear anomalies operated on from 1964 to 1986, 27 cases were found in which the stapes footplate was mobile and the conductive deafness was due to an anomaly in the remaining part of the ossicular chain. In 8 cases the middle ear anomaly was caused by discontinuity of the ossicular chain owing to congenital malformation. In the other 19 ears, epitympanic fixation of the ossicular chain was observed, whether or not in combination with malformation of the stapes, incus or malleus. Ossicular chain reconstruction produced an improvement of at least 15 dB in 6 of the first 8 cases with discontinuity of the ossicular chain. The mean gain was 31 dB. Epitympanotomy with exposure of the fixed ossicle and if necessary ossicular chain reconstruction led to an improvement of at least 15 dB in 12 of the 19 ears, with a mean gain of 28 dB.

Adolescent

Ossicular reconstruction in tympanoplasty - mobile stapes without crural arches, fixed stapes with and without crural arches.

A description of ossicular reconstruction in problems with the stapes using autograft and/or homograft ossicles is given. The inverted stapes is employed for otosclerosis and tympanosclerosis. The two ossicle reconstruction is used in cases of a mobile footplate with absent crural arches. The reshaped incus is repositioned between the malleus handle and oval window when the stapes is fixed and there also exists a lateral ossicular chain defect. Loose connective tissue is an effective seal for the oval window and is a means of stabilizing ossicular functions.

Humans

[Evaluation of stapes mobility based on dynamometric measurements].

The threshold force inducing the stapedial movements was investigated in laboratory and clinic. The measurement was performed by use of the own made dynamometer. The threshold force was between 0.058-0.059 G. The application of this tool during the stapedial surgery may be practical and useful.

Acoustic Impedance Tests

Tympanosclerosis of the middle ear: late results of surgical treatment.

The late results of one stage operation for middle ear tymanosclerosis in 73 patients during the period January 1965 to December 1980 are presented. Mean observation time was 11.2 years (range 3-20.2 years), with a follow-up rate 86 per cent. Among 64 patients with stapes fixation, 59 had removal of tympanosclerotic masses and stapes mobilization, and five cases underwent stapedectomy. The series was divided into six groups and the results analyzed. The best and most stable results occurred in the group with stapes mobilization and an intact ossicular chain followed by the group with stapes mobilization and Type II tympanoplasty with incus interposition. The poorest late results were obtained in ears with lacking stapes crura and stapes mobilization, and in ears subjected to stapedectomy. No case of post-operative sensorineural hearing loss occurred. We recommend that care is taken to preserve an intact ossicular chain at stapes mobilization performed at the same stage as myringoplasty. Also in ears with a defective ossicular chain but intact stapes with tympanosclerotic fixation we recommend stapes mobilization in one stage. In ears with fixation of the stapes footplate and defective crura, we recommend stapedectomy or stapedotomy in two stages.

Adolescent

Primary malleus fixation: diagnosis and treatment.

Primary malleus fixation occurs in an otherwise normal middle ear without evidence of congenital deformity and without chronic inflammatory changes. It occurs in the latter decades of life and is frequently associated with sensorineural presbycusis. We believe it is a ligament ankylosis with osteoarthritis related to the aging process. The diagnosis of malleus fixation is facilitated through the use of a modified Siegle pneumatic otoscope in conjunction with the Zeiss binocular microscope. The literature pertaining to this subject as well as the more historical reports are reviewed. Goodhill has written extensively on malleus fixation. The audiologic test results in the fixed malleus cases reviewed for this study often presented a misleading picture, sometimes mimicking stapedial otosclerosis with a characteristic Carhart's notch and sometimes indistinguishable from sensorineural presbycusis. Usually speech discrimination scores fell in the very good to excellent range. Weber tests, whether performed by tuning forks or audiometrically, almost always lateralized to the suspect ear. Impedance frequently failed to conform to the expected fixed malleus pattern of low static compliance and absent acoustic reflexes; there was an equal number of low compliance and normal range compliance tympanograms and 15% of the total number of our cases had abnormally high compliance tympanograms. Stapedial reflexes are normally expected to be absent with lateral ossicular fixation, but this was not a consistent finding with contralateral test stimulation. The decision for surgical treatment is dependent on the audiological findings and the potential hearing gain. The technique described consists of the removal of the incus and the head of the malleus and the reconstruction of a sound conducting pathway from the handle of the malleus to the mobile stapes or from the mobile stapes to the under surface of the tympanic membrane using a prosthesis-ossicle arrangement. Malleus fixation occurs far more often than it is diagnosed. Surgical correction can result in a worthwhile hearing gain even when the air-bone gap is narrow or nonexistent. The technique of ossicular reconstruction is dictated by the anatomical findings. Some form of autograft ossicular reconstruction from the malleus handle to the stapes is most frequently utilized. Otosclerosis with stapes fixation sometimes causes a lateral ossicular fixation due to degenerative disease and fibrosis. In this instance a stapedectomy is performed as the primary procedure with subsequent revision as necessary to eliminate the lateral obstruction.

Audiometry

Mechanics of type IV tympanoplasty: experimental findings and surgical implications.

In a type IV tympanoplasty, the stapes footplate is directly exposed to incoming sound while the round window is "shielded," usually with a fascia graft. Postoperative hearing results are quite variable, with air-bone gaps ranging from 10 to 60 dB. A cadaveric human temporal bone preparation was developed to investigate the middle ear mechanics of this operation to identify causes of variable results and to test predictions of a recently described theoretic model of type IV tympanoplasty. The ear canal, tympanic membrane, malleus, and incus were removed so as to expose the stapes and round window to the sound stimulus. A "cavum minor" chamber (air space adjacent to the round window) was constructed around the round window niche. The round window could be isolated from sound by placing an acoustic shield over this chamber. The mechanical properties of the shield, cavum minor, annular ligament, and round window membrane were varied experimentally. Stapes velocity as determined by an optical motion sensor was used as a measure of hearing level. The largest stapes velocity occurred with a mobile stapes and round window, a stiff shield, and a well-aerated cavum minor. Partial fixation of the stapes or round window caused a decrease in stapes velocity. Acoustic shields of conchal cartilage or Silastic silicone rubber sheeting (approximately 1 mm thick) provided near-optimal shielding. A temporalis fascia shield resulted in a stapes velocity 10 to 20 dB less than that seen with a cartilage or Silastic silicone rubber shield at low frequencies. A cavum minor air space as small as 16 microL was sufficient for unrestricted stapes motion, provided the air was in contact with the round window membrane. These results qualitatively matched predictions of our model, but there were some quantitative differences. The clinical implications of our results are that in order to optimize postoperative hearing, the surgeon should 1) preserve normal stapes mobility, preferably by covering the footplate with a very thin split-thickness skin graft, not a fascia graft; 2) reinforce a fascia shield with cartilage or Silastic silicone rubber; 3) create conditions that promote aeration of the round window niche; and 4) preserve the mobility of the round window membrane.

Adult

Applications of the KTP laser in chronic ear surgery.

Several types of lasers have been applied to otologic surgery for such procedures as laser stapedotomy and acoustic tumor vaporization. The KTP laser has even broader applications in the field of chronic ear surgery. A three and a half year experience with the KTP laser is described. This laser's performance characteristics makes it well suited for chronic ear surgery. A quartz fiber delivery device enables the surgeon hand control of the laser beam in a microscopic field. Several applications are reviewed. Specifically, the KTP laser has been effective in removing hyperplastic infected mucosa engulfing the stapes, in safely disarticulating a mobile stapes suprastructure for complete cholesteatoma removal, and in atraumatically removing previously inserted ossicles or other middle ear implants. The KTP laser enables the surgeon to avoid mechanical trauma possible with traditional instrumentation and obtain more effective disease removal.

Cholesteatoma

[Deafness and Paget's disease].

Cases of deafness due to Paget's disease can be separated into two types : (1) deafness of a mainly mixed type in which progressive aggravation occurs particularly in the inner ear, and (2) perceptional deafness which progresses without involvement of the transmission apparatus. Among 35 hospitalized patients with Paget's disease, 21 of whom suffered cranial involvement, 18 cases of deafness related to the bone disease were discovered by means of systematic examinations. The deafness was of the mixed type in 11 cases and of the perceptional type in the other 7. Of the 11 patients with the mixed type of deafness with an ankylosis syndrome of the ossicles, 3 were operated upon : one of them underwent an operation to mobilize the stapes, and the two others underwent total stapedectomy followed by venous interposition and the positioning of a Teflon piston. The long-term results were frankly disappointing and did not suggest that these attempts at surgical treatment should be followed up. Calcitonin was employed in 9 patients (6 with mixed deafness and 3 with perception type deafness), with comparative audiograms in 5 cases, and was also not very effective : this lack of effect was a result of the long duration of the Paget's disease and of the deafness in the patients treated. The value of hormonal treatment in cases of deafness associated with Paget's disease will probably be in the prevention of this complication.

Aged

[The influence of tympanoplasty on bone conduction (author's transl)].

Seldom tympanoplasty damages the inner ear in a substantial amount: From 1814 operations upon chronic inflamed ears 4 patients (0.22%) became deaf, among the other patients bone conduction (b.c.) in the mean increased at 1000 cps for + 0.8 dB and decreased at 4000 cps for - 2.2 dB. In 9.8% b.c. showed an improvement for 10 dB or more at 1000 and 4000 cps, 9.7% showed an corresponding deterioration. For patients it was confirmed on a statistical base, that the influence on bone conduction demonstrated by animal experiments (Tonndorf), was mainly the result of changing the compliance of oval window and of increasing ossicular inertia. By relieving a mobile stapes of an incus which was fixed in the attic, there results an improvement of mobility of the stapedial footplate with increasing b.c. at 1000 and 4000 cps. By interposition of an incus between tympanic membrane and stapes and by myringoplasty with fascia there results an increasing ossicular inertia with increasing b.c. at 1000 cps and decreasing b.c. at 4000 cps. Noise trauma, mechanical trauma and infection are only of slight importance, only in some single cases they will damage the inner ear in a substantial amount.

Bone Conduction

The impact of a syndromal diagnosis on surgery for congenital minor ear anomalies.

Between 1964 and 1986, 104 ears of 86 patients with a minor congenital ear anomaly underwent an exploratory tympanotomy at the Institute of Otorhinolaryngology of the University Hospital Nijmegen. A classification of these anomalies is proposed based on the surgical findings and results. The 4 groups in this classification are: isolated stapes ankylosis, stapes ankylosis associated with an anomaly of the malleus and incus, an isolated anomaly of the malleus and incus with a mobile stapes footplate and finally, aplasia of the oval and/or round window. In a total of 29 ears (22 patients) out of these 104 ears, the anomaly formed part of a syndrome. The various syndromes and the anomalies encountered are discussed. The impact of a syndromal diagnosis on the outcome of reconstructive ear surgery is discussed per syndrome.

Abnormalities, Multiple