Effects of endolymphatic mastoid shunt operation for patients with Menière's disease

During the past 10 years, the endolymphatic mastoid shunt operation was carried out on 108 patients with Meniere's disease: 54 men and 54 women between 22 and 72 years old. According to criteria AAOO proposed in 1972, 86 cases (79.6%) belonged to class A, 19 cases (17.7%) to class B and 3 cases (2.7%) to class C. Forty patients took the body sway test before and after the operation. Four of the 40 patients were found to have Meniere's disease on the contralateral side within 12 months after the operation and one patient was found to have a complicating psychogenic disease. The abnormal body sway had recovered 2 to 9 months after the operation, but the medical treatment could not be stopped during this period. The average hearing gain after the operation was 21.3 +/- 14.4 dB; that for the patients with a short period of illness (within 23 months of the first onset to the operation) was 25.2 +/- 14.5 dB and that for the patients with a longer period of illness (over 24 months) was only 13.8 +/- 10.6 dB.