Malleostapedotomy with a self-crimping superelastic nitinol prosthesis.

INTRODUCTION One of the most difficult and time-consuming steps in malleostapedotomy surgery is the crimping of the prosthesis onto the malleus handle manually. The advent of the nitinol prosthesis (Gyrus nitinol piston [GNP]; Gyrus ENT LLC, Bartlett, TN) significantly reduced the difficulty of this surgical step, rendering its fixation to the malleus easy and fast. However, Kwok et al. analyzed the performance of the GNP and observed that this prosthesis has only three contact points with the malleus handle, with a risk of posterior rotation on the axis of the longer diameter of the malleus after closure. Recently, a new superelastic nitinol stapes prosthesis with a self-recoil property has been introduced for stapes surgery. This prosthesis consists of a piston in polytetrafluoroethylene and a self crimping band-shaped loop made of superelastic nitinol (SC-PTFE) (AudioTechnologies, Gossolengo, Italy). It requires no crimping or the use of heat or a laser to close the prosthesis. This study presents our experience with a series of patients using this prosthesis.