title: Bilateral oval window fistulae with recurrent meningitis.
abstract: A case of recurrent meningitis due to a congenital stapes footplate defect is reported. This is the first case to be reported in which a bilateral defect has been clearly demonstrated. A suggestion is made that any future cases which have a defect on one side, might benefit from a prophylactic exploration on the seemingly uninvolved ear, providing that these cases are shown to have a bilateral total sensori-neural hearing loss.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004429:Ear Ossicles / Q000002:abnormalities*; D005260:Female; D006319:Hearing Loss, Sensorineural / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008586:Meningitis, Pneumococcal / Q000209:etiology*; D012008:Recurrence; D013199:Stapes / Q000002:abnormalities*; D013201:Stapes Surgery