Utricular macular ablation for benign paroxysmal positional vertigo

Seventeen percent of all vertiginous patients have benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. Treatment can include occlusion of the posterior semicircular canal for control of these positional vertigo symptoms. More recently, use of an argon laser technique to occlude the posterior membranous semicircular canal has been proposed. However, this laser technique was not tolerated by a diabetic patient. This report describes a new technique using the argon laser to ablate the utricular macula in the affected ear in patients with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. This procedure is done as outpatient surgery under local anesthesia. The procedure successfully resolved benign paroxysmal positional vertigo in 14 patients. Symptoms in these patients improved from 20-100% (median 87%; mean 80%) as measured by the Dizziness Handicap Inventory.