title: Bone conduction variation poststapedotomy.
abstract: We evaluated the variation in bone conduction auditory thresholds in patients undergoing surgical intervention for otosclerosis as part of our report on the use of surgery in patients with a small air-bone gap. Of the 110 patients who underwent stapedotomy, 45 were treated by traditional surgery and 65 with carbon dioxide laser, with a follow-up of 3 years at 500-, 1000-, 2000-, and 3000-Hz frequencies. Both surgical techniques resulted in improvements in air conduction in more than 95% of cases; bone conduction improved more in patients treated with carbon dioxide laser (7.1 dB) compared to those treated with traditional surgery (4 dB) (P < .01). Furthermore, improvement in bone conduction was greater and more frequent in younger subjects (below 45 years) (P < .05). In conclusion, this study allows us to express a positive prognosis when considering otosclerotic patients with sensorineural hearing loss and small air-bone gap.
authors.affiliation: ENT Department S. Maria delle Grazie Hospital-Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy. micaimp@tin.it
authors.forename: Luca
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moscillo
authors.forename: Micaela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Imperiali
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Carra
authors.forename: Ferdinando
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Catapano
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Motta
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001301:Audiometry, Pure-Tone; D001309:Auditory Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D001844:Bone Conduction / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010040:Otosclerosis / Q000601:surgery*; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013201:Stapes Surgery / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome