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Published on: January 11, 2018
Endoscopic Versus Microscopic Transcanal Resection of Glomus Tympanicum: A Retrospective Comparative Study
Ansley J Kunnath1, Michael H Freeman2, Ryan Witcher3
1Medical Scientist Training Program, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN.
Objective:
Comparison of outcomes of microscopic and endoscopic resection of glomus tympanicum (GT) tumors.
Study Design:
Retrospective case review.
Setting:
Single tertiary referral center.
Patients:
All adult patients undergoing transcanal GT resection without mastoidectomy from 2007 to 2021.
Interventions:
Surgical resection-endoscopic versus microscopic approach.
Main Outcome Measures:
Primary outcomes were tumor recurrence at 1 year and presence of residual tumor at conclusion of surgery. Secondary outcome measures included operative time, postoperative air-bone gap, postoperative symptom resolution, and surgical complications.
Results:
Thirty-eight patients underwent resection of GT (74% female; mean age, 59 years). Twenty-nine cases were performed microscopically, and nine cases were performed endoscopically. Both endoscopic and microscopic approaches yielded high rates of complete tumor resection (27/29 microscopic cases, 7/9 endoscopic cases). There was no significant difference in mean operative time (2.3 hours for microscopic; 2.6 hours for endoscopic). On average, air-bone gaps (ABGs) decreased by 6.3 dB after endoscopic resection compared with 1.0 dB after microscopic resection ( p = 0.064). No patients were found to have tumor recurrence during an average follow-up interval of 21 months.
Conclusions:
These results suggest comparable outcomes with both endoscopic and microscopic approaches for GT resection, and decisions regarding preferred approach should be dictated by surgeon preference.
