Endoscopic Stapes Surgery: A Comparison With Microscopic Surgery.
To investigate postoperative audiological outcomes and complication rates for fully endoscopic and microscopic stapes surgery carried out by a single surgeon in one center.



All patients having undergone endoscopic and non-endoscopic stapes surgery for otosclerosis from September 2009 to August 2016 under a single surgeon.



Stapedotomy using either an operating microscope or endoscope for visualization. Stapedotomy was carried out using a standard approach.



Pre- and postoperative audiometry and complications.



Thirty-four patients who underwent endoscopic stapes surgery and 47 patients who underwent non-endoscopic stapes surgery were included in this study. Seventy-nine percent of both endoscopic and non-endoscopic groups had the average air-bone gap closed to less than 10 dBHL, respectively; the difference was not significant (p = 0.940, χ test). No patients with sensorineural hearing loss, vertigo, or facial nerve paresis were reported. Two of 34 patients (6%) of the endoscopic group had the chorda tympani cut intraoperatively for access compared with 11 of 47 patients (23%) of the non-endoscopic group. Sixteen of 47 patients (34%) required an endaural incision for access in the non-endoscopic group; no endaural incisions were made in the endoscopic group.



Air-bone gap closure and patient complications did not vary significantly between endoscopic and non-endoscopic groups in this study of 34 endoscopic procedures. There is a requirement for further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods to fully gauge the safety and effectiveness of this technique.
Department of Otolaryngology, Monklands Hospital, Airdrie, Scotland, UK.
Rhona
R
Sproat
Constantina
C
Yiannakis
Arunachalam
A
Iyer
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004724:Endoscopy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D008875:Middle Aged; D010040:Otosclerosis / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013201:Stapes Surgery / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D016896:Treatment Outcome