Triple semicircular canal occlusion: a surgical perspective with short- and long-term outcomes.

Abstract

To determine the short- and long-term outcomes of triple semicircular canal occlusion as a potential alternative for patients with intractable Ménière's disease. A retrospective case series was performed in university settings, enrolling patients with intractable Ménière's disease with previous maximum treatment, who underwent transmastoid, triple semicircular canal occlusion. The study documented: pre- and post-operative Dizziness Handicap Inventory scores at six weeks and one year post-treatment, pure tone audiometry, and surgical aspects. Two female patients, aged 42 and 65 years, underwent unilateral three-semicircular-canal occlusion. Their respective Dizziness Handicap Inventory scores improved from 88 to 68 and 54 to 30 at six weeks post-operatively, with scores of 66 and 0 at one year post-treatment. The one patient with pre-existing functional hearing maintained her hearing threshold post-operatively. Triple semicircular canal occlusion is a safe, hearing-preserving, extracranial alternative technique that can control rotatory vertigo in patients with intractable Ménière's disease, when other measures have failed.