[Treatment of labyrinthine fistulas in chronic otitis media].

Labyrinthine fistulas (l.f.) are reported to be diagnosed in 3-12.9% of the chronic otitis media patients. Their most frequent location is the lateral semicircular canal. The other locations include posterior semicircular canal, superior s.c. and vestibular window. Surgical removal of the cholesteatoma matrix brings a high risk of the complete hearing loss in the operated ear. Preoperative diagnosis of the l.f. is not always possible. Authors present the analysis of the group of 18 patients with l.f. treated at the Otosurgery Department, Medical University of Lodz. In all patients the radical modified surgery has been performed. Postoperative results are strictly correlated to the l.f location and size. As a conclusion authors present an algorithm of the l.f. surgical treatment based on their experience.