Vorwort

Otosclerosis — Past and Present

“…The early operations were staged operations and only moderately successful, as bony closure of the fenestra was common. There was still prejudice against surgery and it was not until Julius Lempert (1938) described the one-stage fenestration of the lateral semicircular canal and reintroduced and improved the operating microscope, first used by Holmgren in 1923, that this prejudice was overcome. Lempert's papers describing this operation are remarkable in their minute description of surgical techniques; they are the work of a master craftsman and great teacher.…”

Microsurgery: Renewed Sensation

“…In the same year Carl-Orloff Nylen (1954), a Swedish ENT surgeon, using a monocular instrument carried out fenestration in a rabbit's ear and became the first surgeon to use the microscope in human practice on a case of chronic otitis and a few cases with pseudofistula symptoms. In the following year Nylen's chief of surgery, Holmgren (1923), used a Zeiss stereoscopic instrument in humans and developed special operations not only for otosclerosis but also for other diseases within the temporal bone.…”