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Updated: Jul 13, 2026
Endolymphatic Duct Blockage as a Surgical Treatment Option for Ménière's Disease
Published on: April 28, 2023
[Long-term results of endolymphatic sac drainage for Meniere disease]
Ya-Ping Yu1, Shi-Ming Yang, Dong-Yi Han
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, General Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army, Beijing 100853, China.
Insights
Endolymphatic sac drainage effectively managed Meniere disease, with 94.4% of patients experiencing complete or fundamental control of vertigo. This surgical intervention also showed positive outcomes for tinnitus and hearing in many patients.
Area of Science:
- Otolaryngology
- Neurosurgery
- Neurology
Background:
- Meniere disease is a chronic inner ear disorder.
- Intractable Meniere disease often requires surgical intervention.
- Endolymphatic sac drainage is a potential treatment option.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the efficacy and safety of endolymphatic sac drainage for Meniere disease.
- To assess the impact of the procedure on vertigo, tinnitus, and hearing.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of 26 Meniere disease patients.
- Surgery involved endolymphatic sac drainage.
- Follow-up data analyzed for 18 patients with over two years of observation.
Main Results:
- Vertigo was completely or fundamentally controlled in 94.4% of patients.
- Tinnitus improved or disappeared in 61.1% of patients.
- Hearing improved in 33.3% of patients, while 44.5% experienced a decrease.
Conclusions:
- Endolymphatic sac drainage is an effective and safe treatment for intractable Meniere disease.
- The procedure offers significant symptom relief with a low complication rate.
- Patients with residual hearing pre-operatively showed favorable outcomes.
Objective:
To investigate the efficacy of endolymphatic sac drainage for Meniere disease.
Methods:
The efficacy of endolymphatic sac drainage for Meniere disease was retrospectively summed up in 26 patients in General Hospital of Chinese People's Liberation Army from March 1987 to September 2004. Of 26 patients, there were eighteen patients followed up more than two years after surgery.
Results:
According to Chinese Meniere disease's diagnosis and curative effect standard evaluation criteria published in 1996, for vertigo symptom of these 18 patients, there were 9 cases (50%) with grade A (completely controlled), 8 cases (44.4%) with grade B (fundamentally controlled) and one case (5.6%) with grade D (not controlled). The vertigo fully controlled rate was only 50%, but the vertigo completely or fundamentally controlled rate reached 94.4%. Tinnitus of the patients after operation disappeared in 2 cases (11.1%), reduced in 9 case (50%) and unchanged in 7 cases (38.9%). Hearing post operation was improved in 6 cases (33.3%), unchanged obviously in 4 cases (22.2%) and decreased in 8 cases (44.5%).
Conclusions:
Endolymphatic sac drainage was an effective and safe management as well as with less complication for intractable Meniere's disease patients with residual hearing before operation.
