Bone conduction variation poststapedotomy

We evaluated the variation in bone conduction auditory thresholds in patients undergoing surgical intervention for otosclerosis as part of our report on the use of surgery in patients with a small airbone gap. Of the 110 patients who underwent stapedotomy, 45 were treated by traditional surgery and 65 with carbon dioxide laser, with a follow-up of 3 years at 500-, 1000-, 2000-, and 3000-Hz frequencies. Both surgical techniques resulted in improvements in air conduction in more than 95% of cases; bone conduction improved more in patients treated with carbon dioxide laser (7.1 dB) compared to those treated with traditional surgery (4 dB) (P <.01). Furthermore, improvement in bone conduction was greater and more frequent in younger subjects (below 45 years) (P <.05). In conclusion, this study allows us to express a positive prognosis when considering otosclerotic patients with sensorineural hearing loss and small air-bone gap. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.