Surgeon's workshop: Eighteen-year report on stapedectomy. IV. Long-term functional results

This is the last of a series of 4 articles detailing the history of 20893 stapedectomies over an 18-year period. In this fourth part, the authors study long-term functional results in relation to the type of stapedectomy, the importance of the cochlear involvement and the general pathology, mainly vascular. The come to the conclusion that good long-term functional results imply the necessity of combining a carefully performed stapedectomy using a living tissue graft, a strict audiometric surveillance and an adequate postoperative therapy, including (if necessary) an extensive fluoride therapy.