Stapes surgery in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta.

Osteogenesis imperfecta is not in itself a contraindication to stapedectomy. Thirty stapedectomies were performed on 24 patients with osteogenesis imperfecta. Thin ossicles, crural fractures, and thick, mushy, granular footplates predominate in this condition. Deficient, short crura that did not contact the footplate were noted in three patients; this is possibly a new clinical observation. Three times in this small series the endosteum was so thick that it was possible to fenestrate the soft, granular, mush-like footplate without invading the vestibule. Extreme caution in handling the incus is necessary. Conductive hearing loss can be relieved through stapedectomy in patients with osteogenesis imperfecta with about the same level of predictability as in those with otosclerosis.