Long-term hearing outcomes after ossiculoplasty in comparison to short-term outcomes.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate long-term hearing outcomes after ossiculoplasty.


METHODS
Retrospective study.


METHODS
Tertiary referral center.


METHODS
One hundred ninety-nine patients who underwent ossiculoplasty between 1989 and 2001 by the same surgeon and were followed for more than 5 years.


METHODS
Postoperative hearing outcomes were considered successful if the postoperative air-bone gap was within 20 dB. The outcomes after 6 months and 5 years were analyzed.


RESULTS
The overall rate of successful outcomes was 61.3% after 6 months and 54.3% after 5 years. There was a significant difference between 6 months and 5 years (p < 0.05). The significant deterioration of long-term hearing outcomes was found in malleus-present ears, ears with cholesteatoma/atelectasis, adults, and ears treated by one-stage operation. The reasons for long-term unsuccessful outcomes were adhesion or retraction of the ear drum in 13 ears (54.2%).


CONCLUSIONS
The hearing outcomes after ossiculoplasty showed significant deterioration on long-term follow-up. Innovative approaches to the management of cholesteatoma/atelectasis are necessary to improve and stabilize long-term hearing outcomes.
Mishiro
Yasuo
Y
Department of Otolarngology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Japan. ymishiro@hyo-med.ac.jp
Sakagami
Masafumi
M
Kitahara
Tadashi
T
Kondoh
Kazumasa
K
Kubo
Takeshi
T
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D018424:Cholesteatoma, Middle Ear / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006309:Hearing; D006801:Humans; D007188:Incus / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D008307:Malleus / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013199:Stapes / Q000473:pathology; D013201:Stapes Surgery; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome