title: Labyrinth anesthesia--a forgotten but practical treatment option in Ménière's disease.
abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the efficiency of labyrinth anesthesia - the intratympanic instillation of lidocaine--in the treatment of Ménière's disease and to recall a forgotten method. Twenty-four patients (15 male, 9 female), aged from 19.7 to 80.6 years (mean: 47.8 years) with the clinical diagnosis of unilateral Ménière's disease who underwent labyrinth anesthesia in our department were included in this retrospective study. After local anesthesia of the tympanic membrane, a solution of 4% lidocaine and furfuryladenine (Kinetin) was instilled into the tympanic cavity. Patient records, a questionnaire and a physical examination were used to evaluate vertigo control, hearing loss, tinnitus, and quality of life according to the AAO-HNS criteria before and after surgery. Postoperatively, 87.5% of patients reported at least a noticeable decrease of vestibular symptoms, 66.7% of these patients were free of attacks for an average of 26.5 months. Postoperative hearing was the same or even improved in 87.5% of our patients. Tinnitus was not affected in any individual. Based on the findings presented herein, we consider labyrinth anesthesia a practicable and, due to its safety, highly recommendable therapeutic option for patients suffering from Ménière's disease.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department, University Clinic Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt/M., Germany. adunka@em.uni-frankfurt.de
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Adunka
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Moustaklis
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: May
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: von Ilberg
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gstoettner
authors.forename: Antonius C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Kierner
mesh_terms: D000225:Adenine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000779:Anesthetics, Local / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D034381:Hearing Loss / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007322:Instillation, Drug; D007701:Kinetin; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D008575:Meniere Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014012:Tinnitus / Q000209:etiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014717:Vertigo / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D000779:Anesthetics, Local; D008012:Lidocaine; D000225:Adenine; D007701:Kinetin