How I Do It: Repair of Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence and Near-Dehiscence.

OBJECTIVE

This study aims to report the clinical characteristics of patients with superior semicircular canal dehiscence and near-dehiscence and to evaluate the outcomes of repair using a novel technique: middle cranial fossa minicraniotomy with combined plugging and resurfacing using a bone plate enveloped in fascia.

STUDY

DESIGN

Retrospective case series.

SETTING

Tertiary hospital in the Philippines.

PATIENTS: Forty patients, including 28 cases of superior canal dehiscence syndrome (SCDS) and 12 cases of superior semicircular canal thinning or near-dehiscence.

INTERVENTIONS: Surgical repair of superior semicircular canal dehiscence or near-dehiscence.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Symptomatic relief and improvement in vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) findings, defined as either an increase in VEMP thresholds or a reduction in VEMP amplitude.

RESULTS

Symptomatic relief was achieved in all 40 patients, with 88% demonstrating either increased VEMP thresholds or reduced amplitudes postoperatively. No major complications were noted.

CONCLUSIONS

The middle cranial fossa approach, combining plugging and resurfacing of the superior semicircular canal with a bone plate and fascia, appears to be a safe and effective technique for treating both SCDS and near-dehiscence.