Late Postoperative Hearing Results After Stapedotomy

In conductive hearing loss caused by otosclerosis stapes, surgery is the generally accepted treatment of choice. Since the introduction of stapes surgery in the 1950’s many different approaches have been developed. All modern procedures aim at reconstruction of a functional, mobile ossicular chain and adequate sound transfer at the stapes footplate. In the last two decennia small fenestra stapedotomy has become the most preferred procedure. Concerning the results of these surgical procedures to restore the hearing most of the papers report audiological results directly post-operatively or often with a relatively short follow-up generally varying from six months to two years. Given the fact that the procedure intends to functionally repair the mechanism of the ossicular chain, it is not only interesting to demonstrate the audiological effectiveness of this functional reconstruction, but also whether the reconstructed mechanism remains functional during the patient’s lifetime. In this paper presents the audiometric data of a group of 46 patients who had stapes surgery for otosclerosis 10 to 20 years before. The long-term hearing results are discussed. Patients and methods