Carbon dioxide laser occlusion of the guinea pig posterior semicircular canal

Preservation of hearing is possible with selective ablation of the vestibular system and mechanical occlusion of the semicircular canals. Complete ablation of all three canals would improve exposure of the internal auditory canal fundus (e.g., for acoustic tumor exposure), but mechanical packing of the vestibule would disrupt normal sound transduction. This study was designed to assess the feasibility of preserving hearing with CO2 laser occlusion, without mechanical packing of the posterior semicircular canal membranous labyrinth. Twenty adult Hartley guinea pigs underwent occlusion of the right posterior semicircular canal with one of three techniques: mechanical packing, laser coagulation, or laser coagulation with mechanical packing. Electrocochleographic thresholds to clicks and 1-kHz and 8-kHz tone bursts did not change significantly 6 weeks after posterior semicircular canal occlusion with any of these techniques. Histopathologic examination revealed complete canal occlusion with all methods. These findings suggest that mechanical occlusion and CO2 laser occlusion of the posterior semicircular canal do not significantly affect cochlear function in the guinea pig. CO2 laser occlusion of the membranous labyrinth may prove useful for more extensive selective vestibular ablation by obviating the need for mechanical packing of the labyrinth.