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The Er:YAG laser in ear surgery: First clinical results
Author(s) -
Nagel Dethard
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
lasers in surgery and medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.888
H-Index - 112
eISSN - 1096-9101
pISSN - 0196-8092
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-9101(1997)21:1<79::aid-lsm12>3.0.co;2-4
Subject(s) - medicine , ossicles , tympanoplasty , cholesteatoma , middle ear , er:yag laser , ear canal , laser , surgery , radiology , optics , physics
Background and Objective The goal of this study was to gain experiences about the possibilities and limits of the Er:YAG laser for ear operations. Study Design/Patients and Methods: Eighty‐three ear operations were performed with the aid of an Er:YAG laser: 32 stapedotomies, 15 tympanoplasties type III, 10 tympanoplasties type I, 18 ear operations in cholesteatoma, and 8 removals of hyperostosis in the outer ear canal. Results The Er:YAG laser facilitated stapedotomies and removal of hyperostosis from the outer ear canal. In cases of beginning cholesteatoma, the Er:YAG laser allowed matrix removal of the ear ossicles left in situ. Furthermore, in tympanoplasty it was possible to achieve an osteosynthesis of the auditory ossicles, which was done for the first time during this study. No hearing loss attributable to laser dose was found during postoperative hearing tests. Conclusion The Er:YAG laser seems to become a useful tool in middle ear surgery. Lasers Surg. Med. 21:79–87, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.