title: Hearing outcome following laser-assisted stapes surgery.
abstract: This article reports the postoperative results of 76 operations addressing otosclerosis. All procedures were performed by the same surgeon and took place within a 4-year period. We compared the postoperative audiometric results of 54 laser-assisted procedures with those of 22 nonlaser operations. Our findings revealed a statistically significant improvement in the air-bone gap closure of the laser-operated patients: the air-bone gap was narrowed to within 10 dB in 72% of laser-operated cases versus 54% in nonlaser cases. Furthermore, laser use does not induce high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss. We believe that a laser entails less risk of inner ear microtrauma and improves the accuracy and reliability of stapedotomy.
authors.affiliation: Ear, Nose, and Throat Department, Université Catholique de Louvain, Mont-Godinne, Belgium.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Garin
authors.forename: Sandrine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Van Prooyen-Keyser
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jamart
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001299:Audiometry; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010040:Otosclerosis / Q000601:surgery*; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013201:Stapes Surgery / Q000009:adverse effects*