Diagnosis and treatment of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo with lateral canal involvement

Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo is one of the commonest forms of vertigo. The lateral semicircular canal is involved in 5-30% of cases, although this is probably an underestimation. Diagnostic and therapeutic procedures depend on otolithic debris location in the canal, and require a certain expertise. The difficulty in diagnosis lies in locating the debris and determining the affected side, which are prerequisites for effective therapeutic maneuvers. The present study describes the main diagnostic and therapeutic techniques for lateral semicircular canal lithiasis.