BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES A free-beam-type CO2 laser, which use a micromanipulator mounted on a microscope as the delivery system, has the merit of not being affected by hand tremor at the time of shooting. However, this delivery system has several disadvantages, including a restricted operation range and a risk of incorrect focusing. A fiber-type CO2 laser uses a hand-held delivery system and ...

Surgery to correct congenital conductive hearing loss affords an opportunity for the otologic surgeon to drastically alter the patient’s hearing environment and offer a normal level of hearing in lieu of a lifetime of hearing aids. Unfortunately, the spectrum of abnormalities encountered in the congenital middle ear is wide, and the surgeon must be prepared for a variety of tasks. Perhaps the m...

OBJECTIVE To valuate the influence of the color of footplate in the choice of the type of perforator. STUDY DESIGN Prospective study. Level of Evidence 1b. SETTINGS Single hospital study in Avellino, Italy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS From the first of September 2008 to the 30th of June 2009, we considered 83 patients affected by otosclerosis. Patients were divided into 2 groups under footplate ...

OBJECTIVE We evaluated functional results after stapedotomy in terms of the influence of preoperative hearing threshold. STUDY DESIGN Case series and chart review. SUBJECTS AND METHODS We classified 141 patients according to preoperative mean air-conduction threshold: 40 to 54 dB, group 1; 55 to 69 dB, group 2; and 70 to 89 dB, group 3. Speech discrimination scores also were noted. RESULT...

We would like to thank the authors for taking the time to address several important issues regarding our article on laser versus conventional fenestration in stapedotomy. We agree with the authors that some considerations need to be taken into account when interpreting the findings of our systematic review. The authors once more stress that no uniform definition of sensorineural hearing loss is...

INTRODUCTION Otosclerosis one of the most common causes of conductive hearing loss is more common in females and in their middle ages. It is usually a bilateral and progressive disease. Surgical operation is suggested as the exclusive management of otosclerosis. This study aims to evaluate the hearing results after stapedectomy in otosclerotic patients in Ahwaz. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this ...

The new implantable hearing system Codacs™ was designed to close the treatment gap between active middle ear implants and cochlear implants in cases of severe-to-profound mixed hearing loss. The Codacs™ actuator is attached to conventional stapes prosthesis during the implantation and thereby provides acoustical stimulation through a stapedotomy to the cochlea. Cochlear implants (CIs) on the ot...

Introduction  Diode laser is a new alternative in stapes surgery for otosclerosis. The present study is the first to compare the short-term results of the surgery performed using diode laser to those obtained through the conventional fenestration technique. Objective  To use audiometry to establish a comparative analysis between the functional results obtained through surgery for otosclerosis u...