Surgery for vertigo: 10-year audit from a contemporary vertigo clinic

To present the profile of patients undergoing surgical treatment for vertigo at a contemporary institutional vertigo clinic.

A retrospective analysis of clinical charts.

The charts of 1060 patients, referred to an institutional vertigo clinic from January 2003 to December 2012, were studied. The clinical profile and long-term outcomes of patients who underwent surgery were analysed.

Of 1060 patients, 12 (1.13 per cent) were managed surgically. Of these, disease-modifying surgical procedures included perilymphatic fistula repair (n = 7) and microvascular decompression of the vestibular nerve (n = 1). Labyrinth destructive procedures included transmastoid labyrinthectomy (n = 2) and labyrinthectomy with vestibular nerve section (n = 1). One patient with vestibular schwannoma underwent both a disease-modifying and destructive procedure (translabyrinthine excision). All patients achieved excellent vertigo control, classified as per the American Academy of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery 1995 criteria.

With the advent of intratympanic treatments, surgical treatments for vertigo have become further limited. However, surgery with directed intent, in select patients, can give excellent results.