Juvenile stapedectomy.

Stapedectomy in children has long been regarded as taboo and published accounts of this surgery in this age group are few. This paper presents a small series of 29 stapedectomies in patients aged 21 or less; 19 for otosclerosis, 10 for other pathologies associated with stapedial fixation. The results on the otosclerotic group (17 [89%] success, 2 no change, 0 sensorineural loss) were comparable with stapedectomy in adults. The results in the non-otosclerotic group (5 better, 2 no change, 3 sensorineural losses) were not satisfactory, and stapedectomy for stapedial fixation caused by conditions other than otosclerosis cannot be recommended in this age group.