Conventional approaches versus laser CO2 surgery in stapes surgery: a multicentre retrospective study

To analyze and compare surgical and audiological outcomes of conventional approaches versus laser CO2 surgery in stapes surgery.

333 patients who underwent stapes surgery were enrolled in the study; the patient population was divided into three groups: group 1: 170 patients treated with conventional stapedotomy with manual microdrill (average age 49.13 years); group 2: 119 patients treated with conventional stapedotomy with electrical microdrill (average age 51.06 years); group 3: 44 patients (average age 50.4 years) who underwent CO2 laser stapedotomy. Intra-operative, postoperative outcomes and audiological results were investigated.

The average surgical time of laser CO2 surgery was longer than for other surgical procedures. No statistical differences emerged in post-operative abnormal taste sensation. There was also no difference in postoperative dizziness. Air-bone gap (ABG) went down from 29.7 ± 10 dB (group 1) and 27.32 ± 9.20 (group 2) to 10 ± 6.9 dB (group 1) and 10.7 ± 6.03 dB (group 2). In group 3 the preoperative ABG was lowered from 28.3 ± 10.1 to 11.8 ± 10.9, with a statistical difference in auditory recovery (p = 0.0001); The group of patients treated with laser CO2 showed a percentage of patients with an ABG closure of between 0 and 10 dB higher than in the group treated with manual microdrills (77.2% vs. 60%, respectively; p = 0.03).

Overall surgical results of CO2 laser and conventional stapedotomy are comparable without any significant difference; however, the group treated with CO2 laser appears to have a percentage of patients with an ABG closure 0-10 dB higher than the group treated using the conventional technique.