[Perilymphatic effusion as a complication of otosclerosis]

Stapes gusher means the leakage of perilymphatic liquid when opening the perilymphatic cistern. The perilymphatic liquid with a high pressure gushes with a great flow out of the cistern when the stapedotomy is executed. Otosclerosis surgery sometime brings to light abnormal contact between the inner ear and the sub-arachnoidian spaces in patients who didn't presented ear malformations. It's a very rare event (1/1000) which is different from a much more common and more moderate form of perilymphatic liquids high pressure (1/200). About 4 clinical observations, we compared our experience with other authors in specialist reviews.

About four observations, we confronted our experience with that of the literature.

Retrospective study between 1971 and 1998. It was about 3 males and 1 female, without antecedent except one of them who had been operated 5 years before for the opposite ear without gusher but without good audiometric result. They presented a conductive deafness with no answer of the stapedial reflex. We had 4 geysers during the platinotomia which were sealed with some connective tissue.

Two patients had a post operative complete sensory hearing loss, one, a sensitive decline of the conduction thresholds (average 50 dB), the last one kept his bone conduction level with a mild sensory hearing loss. The most recent case had a scanner preoperatively which had not shown abnormality except for the focus of otosclerosis.

Perilymphatic gusher is an unpredictable event that can not be diagnosed before the surgery, nether with clinical facts nor radiological elements. This involves serious consequences concerning not only the continuation of the surgical operation and the prognostic of the hearing but also concerning the danger of secondary meningeal infections. The best way to proceed in case of favourable cases consists in fitting the ossicular prothesis into the stapedotomy, when it's not to wide. Pieces of muscle can be used in some cases, taped on with biologic glu. Various techniques are used to lower the pression of the cerebrospinal liquid: hypertonic solutes, diuretic drugs, lumbar diversion. In all cases, it is necessary to start a wide spectrum antibiotic treatment and a vaccination against pneumococcis.

The surgeon has to know all the option of the treatment when confronted with this situation in order to try to avoid tricky defect of the inner ear.