Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 10, 2026
Surgical Labyrinthectomy of the Rat to Study the Vestibular System
Published on: May 19, 2018
Transmastoid labyrinthectomy versus translabyrinthine vestibular nerve section: does cutting the vestibular nerve
Antonio De La Cruz1, Karen Borne Teufert, Karen I Berliner
1House Ear Institute, Los Angeles, California 90057, USA. adelacruz@hei.org
Objective:
Analyze differences in outcomes between labyrinthectomy with and without vestibular nerve section, including characteristics of symptoms and time course for improvement.
Study Design:
Patient survey.
Setting:
Tertiary referral neurotologic private practice.
Patients/Intervention:
Twenty-five patients who underwent transmastoid labyrinthectomies and 17 who underwent translabyrinthine vestibular nerve section (TLVNS). Patients with a diagnosis of Meniere's disease comprised 64.0 and 64.7% of the two groups, respectively.
Main Outcome Measures:
A mail questionnaire assessed frequency, severity, interference, and disability for both vertigo ("spinning dizziness") and dysequilibrium ("imbalance/unsteadiness") before and after surgery as well as the time course of improvements.
Results:
Approximately 24% of each group still has vertigo (spinning dizziness). On average, both groups indicated resolution of vertigo at 2 to 3 weeks on average (longer for imbalance). There were no significant differences between groups in vertigo characteristics, but TLVNS did show advantages in imbalance outcomes. American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery functional disability showed improvement in 73 and 52% of the TLVNS and labyrinthectomy groups, respectively. The TLVNS group was more likely to have improved imbalance (81.3 versus 45.8%, p
Conclusion:
Both transmastoid labyrinthectomy and TLVNS provide good control of vertigo (>85% Class A or B). However, patients undergoing TLVNS were more likely to show improvement in imbalance and functional disability. This difference was less pronounced in patients with Meniere's disease.
