Stapedotomy and its effect on hearing - our experience with 54 cases

This study reviews the cases of stapedotomy and evaluates its effectiveness at improving hearing loss in patients with otosclerosis.

Retrospective review of patients' records who had clinical and audiometric diagnosis of otosclerosis from January to December 2012.

A total of 54 stapedotomy surgeries (52 unilateral and 1 bilateral surgeries) were received. Average post-operative ABG for 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 KHz showed that 61.1% had complete closure of ABG ( ABG < 10 dB) compared with 1.6% preoperatively and 85.2% had closure of ABG to within 20dB compared with 4.7% preoperatively (t - 13.89, p = 0.000). More than 94% had hearing improvement and 81.5% had ABG closure greater than 10 dB postoperatively (mean gain 23.38 ± 12.37, t = 13.89, p = 0.000). A total of 13% complications were recorded with TM perforation (5.6%) being the commonest complication.

Stapedotomy is an effective surgical procedure for the treatment of otosclerosis which leads to improvement in patients' quality of life. A favorable hearing outcome can be obtained by the combination of experienced hands with minimal surgical trauma and appropriate surgical technique.