The use of alloplastic materials in ossicular reconstruction has a long history. However, many new materials have been described and become commercially available without any evidence that they are superior to the existing ones. The aim of the present literature review is to understand why changes in materials used for ossicular reconstruction have occurred. The literature review was conducted ...

Computer-generated models are increasingly being used in otolaryngology for teaching purposes, pre-operative planning and clinical simulations, especially when dealing with smaU complex areas such as the middle ear. One technique used to analyse the mechanics of complex models is the fmite-element method whereby the system of interest is divided into a large number of small simple clements. The...

A procedure is described for the fabrication of a 3-dimensional surgical template to guide the placement of implants to retain an auricular prosthesis. This procedure requires a diagnostic wax pattern that is checked while on the patient to ensure it is positioned correctly and is also the correct size. The wax pattern is processed into a clear, methyl methacrylate resin, 3-dimensional surgical...

Vestibular loss, which can manifest as dizziness, imbalance, or spatial disorientation, is widespread and often caused by inner ear hair cell malfunction. To address these problems, we are developing a vestibular implant analogous to cochlear implants for the deaf. This vestibular prosthesis provides pulsatile electrical stimulation to the vestibular nerve. Prosthesis effectiveness is assessed ...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS From an acoustic aspect, fixation of the medial end of an ossicular replacement prosthesis to the stapedial footplate would be desirable. Technically, ionomer cement seems an ideal material for this purpose. The objective was to determine the aluminum level of the perilymph after the application of ionomer cement on the stapedial footplate. STUDY DESIGN An experimental s...

The auditory system of adult listeners has been shown to accommodate to altered spectral cues to sound location which presumably provides the basis for recalibration to changes in the shape of the ear over a life time. Here we review the role of auditory and non-auditory inputs to the perception of sound location and consider a range of recent experiments looking at the role of non-auditory inp...

conclusion of the asymptomatic patients investigated, 58% showed focal enhanced periprosthetic glucose metabolism. this finding should be taken into consideration as a more probable unspecific metabolic pattern for correct interpretation of 18f-fdg-pet studies in patients with suspected septic loosening of the hip prosthesis. results fourteen hip prostheses in 12 patients were visually analyzed...

the effect of inter-implant distance on retention and resistance of implant-tissue-supported overdentures is lacking in the literature. an in vitro study was performed to evaluate this effect for mandibular implant-tissue-supported overdentures retained by two ball attachments.an acrylic cast of an edentulous mandible was fabricated. three pairs of implants were symmetrically placed at both sid...

introduction: tympanoplasty is the standard and well established procedure for closure of tympanic membrane perforations .this paper compares the results of tympanoplasty in terms of hearing improvement and graft incorporation in patients with chronic perforation of the tympanic membrane between two groups with and without active drainage at the time of surgery.  materials and methods: sixty re...