Temporal bone carcinoma.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignancy of the external auditory canal, middle ear, and mastoid. Surgical resection is the cornerstone of treatment, with T1 lesions of the external auditory canal treated by lateral temporal bone resection and more advanced lesions treated by subtotal or total temporal bone resection. This article summarizes clinical manifestations, differential diagnosis, management, and differences in treatment philosophy.

Digital camera documentation system for facial nerve outcome assessment.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of a digital camera to document facial nerve function after skull base surgery. SETTING: Patients undergoing skull base surgery at a tertiary care otologic and neurotologic clinic were used in the study. INTERVENTIONS: None. RESULTS: A digital camera system provided still images and a video strip lasting less than a minute to document facial nerve motion. CONCLUSIONS: An inexpensive digital camera system can be used to capture still and moving images of facial nerve function on a floppy disk. The images can then be transferred to compact disks for storage of many patient files. Such a system allows documentation for research, exchange of data between offices, and patient education, and it can be used for medical-legal purposes among other uses.

Intratympanic steroid injections for intractable Ménière's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether intratympanic injection of dexamethasone is effective in controlling vertigo in patients with Ménière's disease who have persistent vertigo despite standard medical treatment, including a low-salt/no-caffeine diet and diuretics. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study. METHODS: From August 1999 to November 2000, 21 patients with intractable Ménière's disease underwent intratympanic injections of 4 mg/mL dexamethasone over a period of 4 weeks as an office procedure. American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery guidelines for the definition and reporting of results in Ménière's disease were used. RESULTS: Complete relief of vertigo was maintained in 11 of the 21 patients (52%) at 3 months and in 9 of 21 patients (43%) at 6 months. Repeat injections in 5 patients who had initial control of vertigo, but later failed, yielded control in 3 (60%) patients. The complication rate was low: one patient had a 35-decibel pure tone average decrease in hearing during treatment and one patient had a persistent tympanic membrane perforation. CONCLUSIONS: Intratympanic injections of dexamethasone are a reasonable initial surgical treatment for persistent vertigo in Ménière's disease. The principal benefits are avoidance of systemic administration of steroids, lower cost than endolymphatic sac surgery, and ease of administration as an office procedure. The disadvantages are the need for repeated office visits for injections and the decreasing effectiveness over time.

Results of a humanitarian otologic and audiologic project performed outside of the United States: lessons learned from the "Oye, Amigos!" project.

From 1989 to 1993, "Oye, Amigos!" a combined group of hearing health and other medical professionals performed 18 humanitarian medical and audiologic trips to Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. The group saw 1500 patients, issued over 800 hearing aids, and performed 150 surgeries on 123 patients. Our tympanoplasty success rate, defined as an intact tympanic membrane, was 41% during the first 2 years of the project but increased to 74% during the last 3 years. Two hundred eighteen patients who were candidates for surgery did not return for care. We present the lessons learned from the surgical care and overall management of this project, and present suggestions to improve future projects.

Bone cement reconstruction of the ossicular chain: a preliminary report.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility and efficacy of using a bone cement, Oto-Cem, to reconstruct the ossicular chain. STUDY DESIGN: Prospective clinical trial on nine consecutively chosen adult patients with ossicular chain defects. PATIENTS AND SETTING: Nine patients with ossicular chain defects involving the long process of the incus were treated at the Carolina Ear and Hearing Clinic. The ossicular chain was reconstructed using bone cement by itself or in conjunction with a stapes prosthesis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Preoperative audiograms were compared with audiograms 3, 6, and 12 months after reconstruction. RESULTS: There was a mean pure-tone average (PTA) improvement of 15 dB in patients undergoing incus to stapes suprastructure reconstruction with the bone cement. The incus to mobile footplate reconstruction (using a stapes prosthesis attached to the newly reconstructed incus) resulted in a 34-dB PTA postoperative improvement. Two of the three patients with incus to oval window repairs experienced a 10-dB improvement in PTA. One of the three patients experienced a loss in speech discrimination and a 2-dB loss in PTA. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the limited number of patients, this preliminary study demonstrates the effectiveness of Oto-Cem in reconstructing a foreshortened incus. There was a substantial hearing improvement in all but one patient in the incus to stapes or the incus to footplate categories.

Ossiculoplasty with polymaleinate ionomeric prosthesis.

With the continued concern over the possible transmission of viral infections through homologous middle ear implants, there is increasing pressure to develop a truly biocompatible alloplastic middle ear prosthesis. The polymaleinate ionomer, which has been used in dentistry as a filling and luting material for more than 15 years, has recently been used to construct total and partial ossicular replacement prostheses. In an attempt to evaluate these new implants, a multicenter prospective clinical trial was initiated. To date, 92 patients have undergone implantation. The follow-up interval ranged from 3 months to 22 months. Although it is premature to discuss the long-term results, the preliminary surgical experience and audiometric data with these implants are reviewed. From a surgical perspective, the ionomeric prostheses were easily contoured with a diamond burr and were not prone to shattering. Preliminary follow-up audiometric data were available on 80 patients (59 partial ossicular replacement prostheses and 21 total ossicular replacement prostheses). Of the 59 partial ossicular replacement prostheses the air-bone gaps (average of 500 Hz, 1 kHz, 2 kHz and 3 kHz) were as follows: 0 dB to 10 dB, 15 (25%) of 59; 11 dB to 20 dB, 20 (34%) of 59; 21 dB to 30 dB, 11 (19%) of 59; and greater than 30 dB, 13 (22%) of 59. Of the 21 total ossicular replacement prostheses the air-bone gaps were as follows: 0 dB to 10 dB, 6 (29%) of 21; 11 dB to 20 dB, 6 (29%) of 21; 21 dB to 30 dB, 5 (24%) of 21; and greater than 30 dB, 4 (19%) of 21.

Work-related, noise-induced hearing loss: evaluation including evoked potential audiometry.

This article reviews the evaluation of 246 workers (492 ears) who underwent otologic and audiologic testing as part of a worker's compensation claim for work-related, noise-induced hearing loss. Tinnitus was present in 58% of the patients, but was rarely a major symptom. Other otologic symptoms or a history of ear disease were virtually nonexistent. Standard audiometry showed a downsloping, high-frequency sensorineural hearing loss in 85% of the ears tested, with only 37% having a characteristic "noise notch" at 4000 or 6000 hertz. Asymmetric hearing loss was not uncommon, with 48 patients (20%) undergoing magnetic resonance scanning, all of whom showed no central lesion responsible for the loss. Proven malingering was surprisingly uncommon (9%). In this study, evoked response audiometry was a valuable adjunct to confirm behavioral thresholds in the evaluation of possible work-related, noise-induced hearing loss. The middle latency response was more effective than the auditory brainstem response as a result of the high-frequency steepness of the audiometric curve.

The porcine model for intratemporal facial nerve trauma studies.

Facial nerve anatomy was compared in the rat, rabbit, cat, and pig in an effort to develop a model for facial nerve trauma within the temporal bone. The porcine model was found to have the most suitable anatomy. Landmarks for the nerve were excellent. The pig had a definite facial nerve mastoid segment that was vertical, as in the human, and long enough to allow for performance of sequential procedures on the nerve. It was also large enough for grafting and electrical testing. A detailed description of the advantages of the pig model and the anatomy of the surgical approach to the facial nerve in the porcine model is presented.

Sudden hearing loss as the sole manifestation of neurosarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a chronic, idiopathic granulomatous disease with frequent pulmonary, ocular, and lymphatic systemic manifestations. Central nervous system involvement is rare (1% to 5%), yet the most frequent presenting symptoms (48%) in patients with neurosarcoidosis are neurologic. Eighth cranial nerve abnormalities occur in 20% of these patients, typically in association with other cranial neuropathies or overt systemic disease. Isolated eighth nerve disease is very rare. We report two cases of neurosarcoidosis manifest as isolated, sudden onset sensorineural hearing loss, one of which had a cerebellopontine angle (CPA) granuloma that mimicked an acoustic neuroma. Both patients experienced marked steroid-induced hearing improvement that persisted after termination of therapy. Brainstem evoked response audiometry (BSER) abnormality persisted despite normalization of audiologic parameters. The implications for diagnosis and treatment of sarcoidosis-induced hearing loss are described. Neurosarcoidosis must be considered when evaluating patients with sudden hearing loss. Prompt steroid therapy offers hope for significant hearing recovery in these patients.

Facial nerve trauma: optimal timing for repair.

Due to the uncertainty of optimal timing for facial nerve repair after severe trauma, a study was designed to investigate facial nerve repair in micro-pigs by grafting at intervals after nerve transection ranging from 0 to 90 days. Following adequate time for regeneration, it was possible to electrically stimulate across the nerve graft in all animals. No significant difference existed between operative groups for electrophysiologic testing. Axon counts demonstrated a trend toward a lower regeneration rate in more delayed grafts. This trend and the ease of grafting with less scar and nerve stump resection suggest that the best results may be obtained with grafting as early as possible. Grafting at 21 days, the peak of neuron cell-body metabolic activity, did not produce better results. Since statistically significant differences do not exist between individual groups, grafting several months after trauma can be successful, if medically necessary.

Problems in air cisternography.

False-positive computed tomography with air cisternography is suspected with either air in the lateral internal auditory canal or a flat filling defect. False-negative air cisternography should be suspected if the internal auditory canal has a mottled appearance or if audiometric or auditory brain-stem response deficit progresses.

Principles and hazards of electrocautery in otolaryngology.

Electrocautery is used extensively in otolaryngology--head and neck surgery. Its commonplace use and excellent safety record may lull the surgeon from heeding the device's potential dangers. User error causes the majority of patient injuries. A thorough understanding of the electrophysical principles and hazards is essential for even the occasional user. Three cases of electrosurgical injury are reported to demonstrate problem areas in electrocautery usage. The basic electrophysical properties are described, and guidelines for prevention of injury to the patient are reviewed.

Changing concepts of acoustic neuroma diagnosis.

Three hundred five acoustic neuromas were reviewed to determine the sensitivity of combining the auditory brainstem response (ABR) and the intravenous contrast-enhanced computed tomogram (CT) as screening tests for acoustic neuroma diagnosis. The ABR detected 98% of the tumors. The enhanced CT demonstrated 97% of tumors larger than 1.5 cm, but only 48% of neuromas 1.5 cm or smaller. The combination of both ABR and enhanced CT, used as the initial screening tests, identified 99% of the neuromas. We conclude that ABR, with enhanced CT as needed, is an accurate screening protocol. This method can be used as an alternative to the traditional ABR, electronystagmography, and internal auditory canal tomograms.

Computed tomography with gas cisternography for detection of small acoustic tumors. A study of five false-positive results.

Cranial computed tomography (CT) with gas cisternography is reported to be the most accurate method of detection of small acoustic tumors. However, five false-positive CT results experienced in three years are now reported. This is a false-positive rate of 22% for tumors with less than 5-mm protrusion into the cerebellopontine angle, and a false-positive rate of 50% for tumors with less than 2-mm protrusion. A false-positive result is suspected if no mass protrudes at the porus or if gas enters the lateral internal auditory canal.

Facial nerve anastomosis in the cerebellopontine angle: a review of 24 cases.

Facial nerve repair during translabyrinthine tumor surgery was performed in twenty-four patients. Nineteen patients (79 percent) had return of facial function. Different techniques of facial nerve anastomosis were evaluated. Suture anastomosis was more reliable than other anastomotic methods, especially if cable nerve grafts were used. Facial function began to return within twelve months in all patients whose function returned.