Hearing loss was the most common symptom in 95% of patients, followed by otorrhea in 64% and facial palsy in 59%. Four patients had recurrent facial palsy. In eight (24%) patients petrous apex cholesteatomas were recurrent or iatrogenic in origin. The supralabyrinthine and massive type of petrous bone cholesteatoma were the most common types, followed by, infralabyrinthine-apical, infralabyrinthine, and apical. Among 18 cases with facial nerve paralysis, 8 underwent hypoglossal-facial nerve anastomosis, 4 underwent rerouting and end to end anastomosis, 3 of them did not undergo any treatment because of the duration of facial palsy (> 3 years), and another 3 patients for whom we had recommended facial-hypoglossal anastomosis did not accept the operation. There were no major complications. Recurrence was observed in two (5%) cases.

BSCC variant may be more common than previously reported. Since almost the half of patients experiences disease recurrence in the early period, multimodal treatment strategies should be employed at initial treatment, and a close follow-up is strongly recommended for this aggressive SCC variant.

Amaç: Bu çalışmada hemifasiyal spazm, trigeminal nevralji, kokleovestibüler sinir kompresyonu gibi vasküler kompresyon sendromları nedeniyle yapılan endoskop yardımlı mikrovasküler dekompresyon deneyimlerimiz sunuldu. Hastalar ve Yöntemler:Mart 1999 -Haziran 2013 tarihleri arasında kliniğimizde vasküler kompresyon sendromları nedeniyle 55 hastaya (34 kadın, 21 erkek; ort. yaş 44 yıl; dağılım 24-77 yıl) endoskop yardımlı retrosigmoid yaklaşımla mikrosvasküler dekompresyon ameliyatı uygulandı. Tanı öykü, nörolojik muayene, manyetik rezonans görüntüleme bulguları ve odyovestibüler testler ile konuldu. Bulgular:Toplam 49 hastada (%89.1) tam iyileşme, iki hastada (%3.6) kısmi iyileşme, dört hastada (%7.3) ise semptomlarda düzelmeme görüldü. Sadece iki (%3.6) hastada ameliyat sırası komplikasyon olarak beyin omurilik sıvısı kaçağı gelişti. En sık bası yapan damarsal yapı ön ve alt serebellar arter olup, 14 hastada gözlendi. Esansiyel hipertansiyonlu dört hasta eş zamanlı sol medulla oblongata basısı dekomprese edildikten sonra normotansif oldu. Sonuç:Mikrovasküler kompresyon ameliyatı ile vasküler kompresyon sendromlu hastaların semptomlarında anlamlı iyileşme sağlanır. Ameliyat mikroskobuna yardımcı olarak açılı teleskopların kullanılması kraniyal sinire root entry zone bölgesinde bası nedenini saptamada önemli yardım sağlamaktadır.Anahtar Sözcükler: Endoskop yardımlı retrosigmoid yaklaşım; arka kraniyal fossa; retrosigmoid yaklaşım; root entry zone; vasküler kompresyon sendromları.Objectives: This study aims to report our experience on endoscope-assisted microvascular decompression experiences performed due to vascular compression syndromes such as hemifacial spasm, trigeminal neuralgia, and cochleovestibular nerve compression. Patients and Methods:Between March 1999 and June 2013, 55 patients (34 females, 21 males; mean age 44 years; range 24 to 77 years) underwent endoscope-assisted microvascular decompression surgery through a retrosigmoid approach due to vascular compression syndromes in our clinic. The diagnosis was based on history, neurological examination, magnetic resonance imaging findings and audio-vestibular tests.Results: A total of 49 patients (89.1%) had complete relief of the symptoms and two had (3.6%) a partial relief, while four had (7.3%) no relief of the symptoms. Only two patients had (3.6%) cerebrospinal fluid leakages as a perioperative complication. The major offending vessels were anterior and inferior cerebellar arteries in 14 patients. Four patients with essential hypertension became normotensive after decompression of the left medulla oblongata as well. Conclusion:Microvascular decompression surgery provides a significant relief of the symptoms in patients with vascular compression syndromes. An angled endoscope as an adjunct to microscope contributes to the diagnosis of the offending vessel in the root entry zone of the cranial nerve.

No abstract

Transmastoid labyrinthectomy seems to be an effective, safe method for ablating the vestibular end organ after unilateral cochlear implantation.

The aim of this case report is to demonstrate the effectiveness of Carina for the treatment of mixed hearing loss by stimulation of the inner ear via the endosteum of the cochlea.The left ear of a 55-year-old man with bilateral mixed hearing loss was implanted with Carina. Due to absence of middle ear ossicles and oval and round windows, the transducer was coupled with the endosteum of the cochlea. A significant improvement was observed in the pure tone average after Carina application. Carina and a conventional hearing aid yielded similar amplification in the low frequencies (250 Hz to 1 kHz). The functional gain with Carina was better than that with the conventional hearing aid in the middle (2 kHz) and high (4 and 6 kHz) frequencies, by 15dB, 5dB, and 25dB, respectively. Speech reception threshold in the free field was 80 dB HL without the hearing aid, 60 dB HL with the hearing aid, and 50 dB HL with Carina. Two-syllable speech discrimination scores increased to 40% and 56% in noise and quiet, respectively. According to International Outcome Inventory for Hearing Aids questionnaire, the patient scored 24 with the hearing aid and 32 with Carina.Stimulation of the inner ear with Carina though the endosteum of the cochlea seems to be an efficient and alternative way to amplify hearing.

ObjectiveTo evaluate VIIth–XIIth cranial nerve (hypoglossal–facial nerve) anastomosis results by age.MethodA total of 34 patients who attended a follow-up visit in 2016, aged 20–63 years, were enrolled. The House–Brackmann facial nerve function grading system and the Facial Clinimetric Evaluation scale were applied.ResultsRegarding post-anastomosis facial nerve function, in the group aged 40 years or less, 14 patients (78 per cent) had House–Brackmann grade III and 4 patients (22 per cent) had House–Brackmann grade IV facial nerve function post-anastomosis. In the group aged over 40 years, nine patients (56 per cent) had House–Brackmann grade III and seven patients (44 per cent) had House–Brackmann grade IV facial nerve function post-anastomosis. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in mean facial movement domain scores (p = 0.02). Analysis between age and facial movement score in all 34 patients demonstrated a moderate negative correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient: −0.38) and statistical significance (p = 0.02).ConclusionFacial reanimation yielded better results in younger than in older patients.