Results in terms of hearing results after surgical closure of labyrinthine fistulas

Abstract

We investigated the results achieved in terms of hearing in 36 patients who had each undergone resection of a cholesteatoma and closure of a labyrinthine fistula. These patients included 28 who had a fistula of the semicircular canal, in 7 of them with an opened perilymphatic space. In 8 cases we found a fistula of the cochlea, with with a perilymphatic leak 7 in of them. We compared the sensorineural threshold before and after surgery and also the results in the two groups. Patients who were deaf preoperatively were excluded from further analysis. Hearing did not improve in any of the patients (n=5) who were deaf preoperatively. There was no significant difference in changes to the hearing threshold between patients with fistula of the cochlear and those with fistula of the semicircular canal with opened perilymphatic space; nor did patients with a fistula of the semicircular canal without perilymphatic leakage have a better outcome than patients with an open membranous labyrinth. The outcome of cholesteatoma resection and closure of the fistula in a single operation was good. Perilymphatic leakage seems to be predictive of a poorer result in terms of hearing.