Projected Cost Simulation in Chronic Ear Surgery: Cost in Chronic Ear Surgery.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the projected healthcare costs of intact canal wall (ICW) and canal wall down (CWD) tympanomastoidectomy surgery and associated clinic follow-up visits in the management of chronic ear disease.

STUDY

DESIGN

A review of literature was performed to analyze the cholesteatoma recidivism rates of ICW and CWD tympanomastoidectomy. Projected Medicare cost simulation applied to representative samples of patients undergoing otologic surgery and follow-up clinic appointments projected over 15 years with an annual 25% cholesteatoma recidivism rate.

SETTING

Tertiary academic center.

PATIENTS: Simulated patient population status postchronic ear surgery and representative follow-up clinic visits with or without in-office mastoid debridement procedures.

INTERVENTIONS: Therapeutic and rehabilitative.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Healthcare cost.

RESULTS

Simulation of cost for chronic ear surgery with follow-up visits produced a higher mean cost for the ICW group compared with the CWD group at year 1 ($9112.06 versus $4954.16). However, CWD patients accumulate cost over time due to routine mastoid debridements. The accumulated costs for the CWD group surpassed the ICW group at 12.54 (CI: 12.02-13.11) years.

CONCLUSIONS

Using a projected cost analysis model, intact canal wall tympanomastoidectomy incurs a larger upfront cost than the canal wall down technique. However, long-term mastoid cavity maintenance costs accumulate to surpass the intact canal wall group at 12.54 years.