Five-year hearing results with the shape memory nitinol stapes prosthesis.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS To evaluate the long-term (5-year) results of the shape-memory nitinol stapes piston in the surgical treatment of otosclerosis. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective case review in a tertiary referral center. METHODS The patients were adults with clinically proven otosclerosis undergoing stapedotomy. Stapedotomy and ossicular chain reconstruction using a shape-memory nitinol stapes piston were performed. The main outcome measure was masked air and bone conduction audiometry. RESULTS Forty-eight out of a potential 58 ears had complete audiometric data. The mean preoperative air-bone gap was 29.2 dB (standard deviation [SD] 9.4). The postoperative gap at 1 year was 4.6 dB (SD 3.1), and P at 5 years was 7.0 dB (SD 6.2). CONCLUSIONS These data suggest that the Smart piston provides a stable long-term hearing result in the surgical treatment of otosclerosis.