Malleus grip prosthesis.

The malleus grip prosthesis is designed for ears with conductive hearing loss caused by pathologic conditions of the stapes in association with pathologic conditions of the malleus or incus. The malleus grip procedure was performed on 220 ears, and follow-up studies are available on 203. Mild to profound sensorineural hearing losses occurred in 16 (8.37%). The remaining 187, on the first postoperative test, had an average air-bone gap of 14 dB, and subsequent examinations on 100 of them showed no significant change with the passage of time. The procedure is technically more difficult than stapes surgery for otosclerosis, and success is highly dependent upon selection of appropriate cases and meticulous implantation of the prosthesis.