Technical and clinical aspects of 'one-shot' CO(2) laser stapedotomy.

OBJECTIVE

In order to further optimize the surgical technique with the CO(2) laser in stapes surgery, a scanner system was used to obtain a footplate perforation of 0.5-0.6mm with only one laser application ('one-shot' stapedotomy).

STUDY

DESIGN

240 patients with otosclerosis were submitted to a primary CO(2) laser stapedotomy with the SurgiTouch scanner. This study surveys the surgical technique and clinical results.

RESULTS

An adequately large perforation diameter could be achieved with a single shot in 68% of the patients treated with the SurgiTouch scanner. In 14% of the patients, a second laser application at the same site was necessary. In 18%, the perforation had to be enlarged by several slightly overlapping laser applications without scanner. The clinical data of this study clearly document that there is no evidence of laser-depending inner ear affections. The closure of the air-bone gap in our study is comparable to conventional stapes surgery.

CONCLUSION

The CO(2) laser combined with modern scanner systems is well suited for application in stapes surgery.