title: Balloon dilatation eustachian tuboplasty: a clinical study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the feasibility of balloon dilatation eustachian tuboplasty (BET) as an option for treatment of patients with eustachian tube (ET) dysfunction.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ethics approved case controlled interventional study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight patients were identified with poor ET function using a ET score and were assigned to the study. The endoscopic procedure involved the dilatation of the cartilaginous and bony portion of 13 ETs with a balloon catheter. Pre- and postinterventional computed tomography was performed. All patients were reassessed 1, 2, and 8 weeks after BET.
  
  
  RESULTS
  BET was technically easy to perform. No damage to essential structures, particularly the carotid canal, was found in the human study. Patients revealed a significant improvement of the ET score comparing pre- and the 2-month post-treatment results. Improvement was found to be time dependent.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This newly introduced method of BET was found to be a feasible and safe procedure to inflate the ET. It significantly helped to improve ET function in our study group. However, larger long-term studies are necessary to fully evaluate the clinical value of BET.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Bielefeld Academic Teaching Hospital, Bielefeld, Germany.
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ockermann
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Reineke
authors.forename: Tahwinder
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Upile
authors.forename: Jörg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ebmeyer
authors.forename: Holger H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Sudhoff
mesh_terms: D000158:Acoustic Impedance Tests; D000328:Adult; D002404:Catheterization; D004427:Ear Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy; D005064:Eustachian Tube; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed