Surgery of otosclerosis in the elderly

Stapedectomy Revision in Elderly Patients

“…Many patients may not seek medical attention for their hearing loss until they have reached a more advanced age. 1,2 As life expectancy increases, there may be a trend toward seeing more patients with otosclerosis in the older age groups. For similar reasons, there may be more patients seeking surgical revision as people live longer and as less experienced surgeons perform more primary stapedectomies.…”

“… 5 Other studies refute these findings, indicating that both hearing results and complication rates are not significantly different between the two groups. 1,2,6–9 A recent study reported successful closure of the postoperative air–bone gap (ABG) in patients over 60 years of age (73.1%) compared with 66.9% for patients under 60 years of age using a stapedotomy technique. 2 Similar findings were obtained by Lippy et al 7 in previous work that included a much larger patient base and a slightly older population; using the stapedectomy technique, success was obtained in 90.9% for the elderly (>70 y) group and 90.0% for the younger group.…”

“… 1,2,6–9 A recent study reported successful closure of the postoperative air–bone gap (ABG) in patients over 60 years of age (73.1%) compared with 66.9% for patients under 60 years of age using a stapedotomy technique. 2 Similar findings were obtained by Lippy et al 7 in previous work that included a much larger patient base and a slightly older population; using the stapedectomy technique, success was obtained in 90.9% for the elderly (>70 y) group and 90.0% for the younger group. Neither study showed a difference in complication rate between age groups, which parallels earlier findings by Vartiainen.…”

“…1 In addition, these studies would also argue that, although senior patients generally exhibit worse air‐ and bone‐conduction thresholds preoperatively, restoration of hearing to an “aidable” level without additional risk validates stapedectomy as an option for elderly patients using the same indications as for younger patients. 2,7 …”

Chapter 10 Stapedectomy

“…Lippy et al reported that stapedectomy in the elderly gave a 90.9% success rate, which they found was comparable to the rate for a younger age group of patients who had undergone stapedectomy. Albera et al (2001) also concluded that stapedectomy was a safe and rewarding procedure that can be effectively performed in the elderly. Stapedectomy serves not only to reduce a handicap but also to improve the quality of life in the elderly.…”