Surgical results and quality of life after subtotal petrosectomy

Few data are available regarding subjective complaints and quality of life (QoL) after subtotal petrosectomy (STP). The purpose of our study was to assess long-term surgical results after STP, and to evaluate disease-specific, patient-reported outcomes including QoL and subjective hearing.

A retrospective cohort study, including a postal survey, was performed in the Amsterdam University Medical Centers (Amsterdam UMC) location Academic Medical Centre (AMC). All patients who underwent a STP between 1990 and 2018 were included. Patient characteristics, indication for surgery, adverse events, disease recidivism, and patient-reported health outcomes were evaluated.

181 patients (183 ears) underwent a STP for several indications. The main indication was chronic otitis media (COM) with or without cholesteatoma (69%). In the total cohort, 8 residual cholesteatoma (5%) and 6 inclusion cholesteatoma 4% were detected. Postoperative (functional) health outcomes showed a significant negative impact on QoL in the STP cohort compared to normative data. Compared to patients without ear problems, the postoperative STP patients scored worse on almost all domains of the Chronic Ear Survey (CES) (p < 0.001). SF-36 scores of postoperative STP data showed negative Z-scores in almost all subscales, indicating lower levels of QoL compared to Dutch reference values. Most subscales of the Amsterdam Inventory for Auditory Disability and Handicap (AIADH) demonstrate a large-effect size in disadvantage of the STP cohort when compared to Dutch reference values.

STP is a suitable technique to tackle severe ear disease. Despite its favourable surgical results, STP has a negative impact on several domains of patient's QoL.