Obliteration of Radical Cavities and Total Reconstruction Procedure Without Staging After Canal Wall Down Mastoidectomy: Long-term Results.
OBJECTIVE
We evaluate the long-term surgical and hearing results using a canal wall down mastoidectomy technique followed by cavities obliteration, canal wall reconstruction and ossiculoplasty without staging.


METHODS
A total of 44 patients between January 2002 and October 2009 were selected and 27 of them were revision cases. Preoperative and postoperative pure tone average (PTA) and air-bone gap (ABG) were assessed and compared 1 and 4 years after surgery.


RESULTS
The middle ear was well healed and aerated in 40 patients (90.9%) and the tympanic membrane was intact in 42 patients (95.5%). Recurrent cholesteatoma was found on postoperative follow-up in two of the revision patients (7.4%) but none in the primary patients. Seven patients were found to have partial canal bone absorption, but revision surgery was not required. Over 86.4% of all cases were water resistant. Long-lasting improvement and/or preservation of hearing, with maintenance of PTA-ABG closure in 63.7% of all cases within 20 dB, were obtained.


CONCLUSIONS
The efficacy of our technique after a canal wall down mastoidectomy is satisfactory, and the rate of complication is acceptably low. We believe that our technique could be a convenient method in disease control and providing an excellent basis for hearing restoration simultaneously.
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Shao-Cheng
SC
Liu
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chih-Hung
CH
Wang
Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, Taipei, Taiwan.
Bor-Rong
BR
Huang
Cholesteatoma; Hearing; Mastoid; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures; Surgical Procedures, Operative