Otologic surgery in HIV-infected patients.

As the lifespan of patients with HIV continues to increase secondary to improvements in antiretroviral medications, patients can keep the virus in a latent state for a longer period of time than ever before. As a result, patients live longer with infection and demand a higher quality of life during the course of the disease. The most important decision in the management of otologic manifestations of AIDS is whether the patient should be operated. The surgery of HIV-infected patients includes two important issues: Risk of transmission of HIV to health care workers and delay of wound healing. In this paper we describe the three otologic procedures of two HIV-infected patients managed successfully without complication. We, like many others, believe that otolaryngologists should apply strict surgical criteria to HIV-infected patients for otologic procedures and should not withhold rational therapy because of the patient's HIV status.