The crimping problem in stapes surgery.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The goal of this study was to compare the attachment of stapes prostheses with differently shaped loops to the long process of the incus.

METHOD: Gold, steel/Teflon, platinum/Teflon, and two different titanium stapes prostheses were inserted in 30 specially prepared temporal bones by three experienced surgeons using the Fisch technique with the McGee crimper and straight alligator forceps for the crimping of the loops.

RESULTS

In all prostheses, a sufficiently firm attachment of the long process of the incus was achieved. The band-shaped loops showed a better contact with the incus than did the wire loops. However, the broad spiral-shaped loops led to a loss of the perpendicular axis of the piston to the long incus process.

CONCLUSION

The geometry of the loop affects the final length of the piston in the vestibule and its angle to the long process of the incus.