Stapes surgery for otosclerosis: Comparison of two techniques

BACKGROUND. Otosclerosis is a primary disease of the human otic capsule and stapes stage, being a frequent cause of conductive hearing loss in our country. The surgical treatment of choice is stapes surgery and prosthesis placement, performed in a conventional way, with a surgical microscope, for 30 years in our hospital. Recently, the option of performing stapes surgery endoscopically was introduced in our centre. OBJECTIVE. To evaluate the results in stapes surgery for otosclerosis between the conventional microscopic versus endoscopic procedure. MATERIAL AND METHODS. An observational, analytical and retrospective study on patients undergoing stapes surgery with microscopic and endoscopic technique was conducted. Data such as age, sex, state of origin, affected ear, as well as the technique used, duration of surgical intervention, hearing gain and postsurgical complications were taken. Data were taken from the records of patients admitted to the hospital. Descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U and Pearson’s Ji2, were used, considering a value of p≤ 0.05 as significant. RESULTS. No significant differences were found in surgical time or postoperative hearing between the two surgical techniques. The female sex was the most intervened. There was no significant difference between the post-surgical complications of both groups. CONCLUSION. Both procedures appear to be effective, with similar risks and postoperative results for the surgical treatment of otosclerosis.