Stapedectomy - a 10 year review at Sunnybrook Hospital.

The authors wonder if the success rate with stapedectomy performed by a group of surgeons in a local general hospital can be expected to equal the results published from certain major centres. A 10 year review at Sunnybrook where 12 surgeons performed 160 operations showed a 78 per cent favorable result and an eight per cent unfavorable result in primary stapedectomy. In general older patients with more extensively affected footplates did worse. There were only minor differences between the results achieved with different prostheses, and virtually none between the various surgeons. Revision stapedectomy showed considerably worse results with 21 per cent achieving a favorable result against 42 per cent whose hearing became worse. A conservative approach to revision surgery is advised.