title: Perilymphatic fistula and Meniere's disease. Clinical series and literature review.
abstract: There continues to be considerable confusion concerning the diagnosis and treatment of perilymphatic fistulas (PLFs) and Meniere's disease. This paper reports an 8-year experience with patients whose symptoms were compatible with Meniere's disease but who had some other element that raised the possibility of their having a PLF. This review is a retrospective report on 64 patients who had fluctuating hearing loss, vertigo, tinnitus, and aural fullness typical of Meniere's disease. However, they also had a positive fistula test and/or symptoms beginning immediately after head trauma. They all underwent at least a unilateral PLF repair, and some also underwent an endolymphatic sac-mastoid shunt operation. This report provides a literature review to help put this series' results into perspective. Of those 40 patients who underwent an initial PLF repair, 58% had a successful outcome. Of the 10 patients who underwent an initial PLF repair plus an endolymphatic sac-mastoid shunt, 70% had a successful outcome. Since it is often difficult to distinguish patients with PLFs and secondary endolymphatic hydrops (Meniere's syndrome) from patients with Meniere's disease (idiopathic endolymphatic hydrops), PLF repair is a reasonable first operation, reserving an endolymphatic sac-mastoid shunt operation as a secondary procedure if needed. The decision to consider a PLF repair is guided by a positive fistula test or an immediate onset of Meniere's disease symptom complex after head or ear trauma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otology/Neurotology, Washington Hospital Center, DC, USA.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D018159:Endolymphatic Hydrops / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005402:Fistula / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007759:Labyrinth Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies