Pediatric laser-assisted tympanostomy.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate effectiveness of laser-assisted tympanostomy in treatment of pediatric patients with chronic otitis media with effusion.


METHODS
Retrospective review of 23 pediatric patients who received office laser-assisted tympanostomy.


METHODS
A CO2 laser attached to an operating microscope with a microscope laser adaptor device or the handheld Oto-LAM (Needham, MA) was used to perform all of the tympanostomies. The average diameter of tympanostomy was 2 mm; on average, 13.6 W was applied for 0.13 seconds.


RESULTS
Laser-assisted tympanostomy was performed on 37 pediatric ears (patient age range, 2-16 y) for the diagnosis of chronic otitis media with effusion. Average follow-up time was 4.7 weeks. At the time of the follow-up examination, 46% of the ears had no evidence of fluid and required no further intervention. Forty-nine percent of the ears required placement of pressure equalization tubes. The average SRT improved from 30.8 dB preoperatively to 21.03 dB postoperatively.


CONCLUSIONS
Laser-assisted tympanostomy appears to be an effective treatment for chronic otitis media with effusion in pediatric patients.
Silverstein
H
H
Ear Research Foundation, Florida Ear and Sinus Center, 1901 Floyd Street, Sarasota, FL 34239, USA.
Jackson
L E
LE
Rosenberg
S I
SI
Conlon
W S
WS
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008876:Middle Ear Ventilation / Q000379:methods*; D010034:Otitis Media with Effusion / Q000601:surgery