A Comparative Study of Endoscopic Stapedotomy and Microscopic Stapedotomy

Aim: To compare the surgical outcome of endoscopic and microscopic stapedotomy. Materials and Methods: This prospective comparative study was conducted in the department of otolaryngology, Maulana Azad Medical College. The study population comprised of patients diagnosed with otosclerosis clinically by tuning fork tests and pure tone audiometry. Duration of study was from September 2016 to February 2018. A total of 30 patients were selected based on inclusion criteria. The patients operated by each technique (endoscopic-group A, microscopic-group B) were 15. The parameters compared for both groups were-operating time, postoperative closure of air-bone gap, intraoperative and postoperative complications. The age and sex demographics of otosclerosis were also studied. Results: Otosclerosis is a disease of young adults with a sex ratio (F:M) of 2:1. Among intraoperative parameters, 20% patients in group A and 86.7% in group B required curettage of canal wall (p-value-0.001). Chorda tympani injury was seen in 6.7% patients in group A and 20% in group B (p-value-0.283). Mean operative time when compared was statistically significant (group A-51.53 mins, group B-62.73 mins, p-value-0.001). Postoperative complications like pain and dizziness were more common in group B. Air Bone Gap (ABG) closure in both groups was comparable (p-value-0.798). Conclusion: With our study results we can conclude that endoscopic and microscopic stapedotomy have a comparable audiological outcome with added advantage of less operative time, pain, increased visibility, decreased postoperative dizziness, minimal handling of chorda tympani and canal wall curettage. To substantiate this result, a larger population study is required.