Hearing results in pediatric patients with chronic otitis media after ossicular reconstruction with partial ossicular replacement prostheses and total ossicular replacement prostheses.

OBJECTIVE

To examine hearing results in pediatric patients after ossicular reconstruction with partial ossicular replacement prostheses (PORPs) and total ossicular replacement prostheses (TORPs) in children with chronic otitis media.

METHODS

A retrospective chart review was performed on 55 pediatric patients with chronic otitis media who underwent ossicular reconstruction from 1991 to 1998. Patients' audiograms were evaluated preoperatively and postoperatively for pure-tone average (PTA), air-bone gap (ABG), speech reception threshold (SRT), method of ossicular reconstruction, and management of the mastoid.

RESULTS

Twenty-seven patients underwent ossicular reconstruction with TORPs. The average preoperative ABG was 40.1 dB, and the average postoperative ABG was 31.6 dB. Forty-one percent of the children improved their PTA greater than 10 dB postoperatively, and 52% of children did not change their ABG by more than 10 dB postoperatively. Nineteen percent of children with TORPs had a postoperative ABG less than 20 dB, and 44% of children with TORPs had a postoperative ABG less than 30 dB. Twenty-eight patients underwent ossicular reconstruction with PORPs. The average preoperative ABG was 29.7 dB, and the average postoperative ABG was 22.5 dB. Thirty-two percent of patients improved their PTA by greater than 10 dB, while 57% of children with PORPs did not change their ABG by more than 10 dB postoperatively. Forty-three percent of children with PORPs had an ABG of less than 20 dB postoperatively, and 71% of children with PORPs had a postoperative ABG less than or equal to 30 dB.

CONCLUSIONS

Children who underwent ossicular reconstruction with PORPs had slightly better postoperative hearing than did children with TORPs. Postoperative hearing was essentially unchanged in approximately 55% of both groups. Preoperative hearing levels may be the most important factor determining postoperative hearing in nonstaged surgery for children with chronic otitis media Long-term hearing results in children with single-stage surgery were not as good as those reported in the literature for staged surgery. Severe mucosal disease and eustachian tube dysfunction may contribute to poorer hearing results in children.