Bilateral endolymphatic hydrops in Menière's disease: review of temporal bone autopsies

The wide range in incidence rates reported for bilateral Meniere's disease results mainly from the lack of established clinical criteria for bilaterality, and from follow-ups of varying duration. In order to help determine a reasonable bilateral involvement rate, we examined histologic reports of temporal bones with endolymphatic hydrops. We reviewed the literature on temporal bone autopsies from 1938 to 1988, and selected 72 cases for histologic examination. Of the 72 cases, 67 (93%) showed endolymphatic hydrops, 2 (2.8%) showed collapse, and 3 (4.2%) showed membranous labyrinths of normal appearance. Twenty of the 67 endolymphatic hydrops cases (29.9%) displayed bilateral involvement, suggesting a rate of bilaterality in Meniere's disease of approximately 30%.