First experience with a new stapes clip piston in stapedotomy

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Biomedical Engineering
• Audiology

Background:

• Otosclerosis is a condition causing hearing loss due to abnormal bone growth in the middle ear.
• Stapedotomy involves replacing the stapes bone with a prosthesis to restore hearing.
• Traditional stapes prostheses often require crimping onto the incus, which can be technically challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the hearing outcomes of a novel titanium-clip stapes piston prosthesis in patients with otosclerosis.
• To assess the efficacy of the àWengen Clip Piston prosthesis in closing the air-bone gap and preserving sensorineural hearing.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective pilot study analyzed audiological data from 23 patients who underwent stapedotomy with the àWengen Clip Piston prosthesis.
• Preoperative and postoperative audiograms were compared to evaluate hearing gain, focusing on air-bone gap closure and sensorineural hearing.

Main Results:

• Complete closure of the air-bone gap to within 20 dB was achieved in 100% of cases (23/23).
• 56.6% of patients (10/23) experienced air-bone gap closure to within 10 dB.
• No significant sensorineural hearing loss or decline in speech discrimination was observed post-surgery.

Conclusions:

• The titanium-clip stapes piston prosthesis offers good hearing results for stapedotomy in otosclerosis.
• This novel clip design simplifies fixation without crimping, representing an advancement in stapes prosthesis technology.
• While effective, surgical placement can be challenging depending on individual middle ear anatomy.