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Pediatric Laser‐Assisted Tympanostomy
Author(s) -
Silverstein Herbert,
Jackson Lance E.,
Rosenberg Seth I.,
Conlon W. Sean
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1097/00005537-200105000-00028
Subject(s) - medicine , effusion , otitis , operating microscope , tympanostomy tube , surgery
Objective To evaluate effectiveness of laser‐assisted tympanostomy in treatment of pediatric patients with chronic otitis media with effusion. Study Design Retrospective review of 23 pediatric patients who received office laser‐assisted tympanostomy. Methods A CO 2 laser attached to an operating microscope with a microscope laser adaptor device or the handheld Oto‐LAM (Needham, MA) was used to perform all of the tympanostomies. The average diameter of tympanostomy was 2 mm; on average, 13.6 W was applied for 0.13 seconds. Results Laser‐assisted tympanostomy was performed on 37 pediatric ears (patient age range, 2–16 y) for the diagnosis of chronic otitis media with effusion. Average follow‐up time was 4.7 weeks. At the time of the follow‐up examination, 46% of the ears had no evidence of fluid and required no further intervention. Forty‐nine percent of the ears required placement of pressure equalization tubes. The average SRT improved from 30.8 dB preoperatively to 21.03 dB postoperatively. Conclusions Laser‐assisted tympanostomy appears to be an effective treatment for chronic otitis media with effusion in pediatric patients.