Audiometric Outcomes and Middle Ear Disease following Cerebrospinal Fluid Leak Repair

Objective To investigate audiometric outcomes and incidence of chronic ear disease following lateral skull base repair (LSBR) of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks. Study Design Retrospective review. Setting Tertiary skull base center. Subjects and Methods Consecutive adults undergoing LSBR of CSF leaks between 2012 and 2018 were reviewed. Audiometric data included mean air conduction pure-tone average (PTA), air-bone gap (ABG), speech recognition threshold (SRT), and word recognition score (WRS). The incidence and management of the following were collected: effusion, retraction, otitis media and externa, perforation, and cholesteatoma. Results Seventy-three patients underwent transmastoid (n = 5), middle cranial fossa (n = 2), or combined approach (n = 67) for repair of spontaneous leaks (sCSFLs, n = 41) and those occurring in the setting of chronic ear disease (ceCSFLs, n = 32). ABG decreased 7.23 dB (P = .01) in sCSFL patients. Perforations (P = .01) were more likely in ceCSFL. No sCSFL patient developed a cholesteatoma, perforation, or infection. Effusions (n = 7) were transient, and retractions (n = 2) were managed conservatively in the sCSFL cohort. Eight ceCSFL patients required tubes, 3 underwent tympanoplasties with (n = 2) and without (n = 1) ossicular chain reconstruction (OCR), and 1 had tympanomastoidectomy with OCR. Conclusion Lateral skull base repair of CSF leaks maintained or improved hearing. Patients with preexisting chronic ear disease were more likely to require additional intervention to sustain adequate middle ear aeration compared to the sCSFL cohort. LSBR of sCSFL does not appear to increase risk for developing chronic ear disease.