OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS To describe the inferior retrotympanic anatomy from an endoscopic perspective. STUDY DESIGN This was an anatomic study on a retrospective case series. METHODS During November 2009 and December 2009, videos from endoscopic middle ear procedures carried out between June 2007 and November 2009 and stored in our database were retrospectively reviewed. Surgeries in which th...

It is important to develop an inner ear damage protocol for mice that avoids systemic toxicity and produces damage in a relatively rapid fashion, allowing for study of early cellular and molecular mechanisms responsible for hair cell death and those that underlie the lack of hair cell regeneration in mammals. Ideally, this damage protocol would reliably produce both partial and complete lesions...

PURPOSE To demonstrate CT abnormalities encountered in children with postmeningitic deafness and to assess the value of CT in the prediction of cochlear implantation difficulties. METHODS Thirteen children with postmeningitic deafness were evaluated with high-resolution, thin-section CT. CT findings were correlated with surgical anatomy at the time of cochlear implantation, with particular re...

OBJECTIVES To study possible nerve regeneration of a damaged auditory nerve by the use of stem cell transplantation. METHODS We transplanted HNPCs to the rat AN trunk by the internal auditory meatus (IAM). Furthermore, we studied if addition of BDNF affects survival and phenotypic differentiation of the grafted HNPCs. A bioactive nanofiber gel (PA gel), in selected groups mixed with BDNF, was...

This study prospectively analyses electrocochleography (ECoG) recordings obtained from ears demonstrating symptoms highly suggestive of Meniere's disease. Comparison is made with ECoG recording from ears in which the diagnosis of Meniere's is considered unlikely (control ears). Electrocochleograph recordings were made through a transtympanic recording needle, situated in the round window niche....

Background: In the last two decades, endoscopy established itself as an alternative to traditional1-3 (often indirect mirror based4-6) microscopic tympanoscopy and became strongly promoted for various endoscopic middle ear procedures7-12. This study evaluates the diagnostic potential of todays available endoscopic systems. Materials and Methods: Seven otologists rated the degree of visualizatio...

The aim of the present study was to describe the use of the endoscopic-assisted cochlear implantation in cases with an unsuccessful standard surgical technique because of not achieving adequate exposure to the round window (RW). Three patients with a bilateral profound hearing loss were operated using an endoscopic-assisted cochlear implant procedure at our tertiary university referral center b...

Since impairment of cochlear blood flow is one of the factors implicated in the pathophysiology of sudden deafness, we measured cochlear blood flow in nine patients suspected of having perilymphatic fistulas. All but one patient had sudden sensorineural hearing loss. The exceptional case had experienced rotatory vertigo immediately after nose-blowing. In the eight patients with sudden deafness,...

We present two minimally invasive microsurgical techniques in rodents for specific drug delivery into the middle ear so that it may reach the inner ear. The first procedure consists of perforation of the tympanic bulla, termed bullostomy; the second one is a transtympanic injection. Both emulate human clinical intratympanic procedures. Chitosan-glycerophosphate (CGP) and Ringer´s Lactate buffer...

OBJECTIVES The aim of our study was to assess feasibility of using a 1.3mm semi-rigid interventional salivary endoscope for middle ear endoscopy and as a route for trans-tympanic delivery of medication in human cadaveric temporal bones. METHODS Five temporal bones harvested from human cadavers were examined. A 1.3mm diameter 0 degree. Marchal interventional sialendoscope equipped with an inte...