Stapes fixation surgery: stapedectomy versus stapedotomy

Background: Stapedectomy and stapedotomy are the standard techniques for stapes fixation surgery. Both techniques depend on the size of window opening (total, partial stapedectomy and small-hole stapedotomy) and the type of prosthesis used. Outcome of technique and prosthesis are controversy. Objective: Evaluate the outcomes of the two surgical techniques (stapedectomy/stapedotomy) and two sizes of prosthesis (Cawthorn 0.6mm/0.3mm) in terms of effectiveness and safety. Material and methods: Sixty-four medical records of patients undergoing stapedectomy or stapedotomy between the year 1995 and 2005 were reviewed. The subjects were classified into three groups including 0.6-mm stapedectomy, 0.6-mm and 0.3-mm stapedotomy group. The pre and post operative air-conduction threshold (AC) and air-bone gap (A-B gap) were compared for each group. The pre-and post-operative differences in pure tone average of AC, pure tone average of bone conduction threshold (BC), AB gap, AC at 4KHz, BC at 4KHz, AC at 8KHz, and speech discrimination score (SDS) were analyzed. The surgical complications were also compared. Results: Means of post-operative AC, and A-B gap were significantly better in all three groups. The mean of postoperative AC at 4KHz was significantly improved only in stapedotomy groups (0.6-mm and 0.3-mm stapedotomy). To compare the hearing outcomes among the three groups, there were no statistically significant differences between 0.6-mm stapedectomy vs. 0.6-mm stapedotomy, and between 0.6- mm vs. 0.3-mm stapedotomy. The complications were found in all three groups. The 0.3-mm stapedotomy had the lowest rate. Conclusion: Stapedectomy versus stapedotomy yields comparable hearing outcomes but stapedotomy results had a better success rate than the stapedectomy. For 0.6-mm stapedotomy vs. 0.3-mm stapedotomy, the overall results in both groups are not significantly different, in terms of both the hearing outcomes and the success rate. In terms of complication rate, 0.6-mm stapedectomy had the highest rate, while 0.3-mm stapedotomy had the lowest.