Abstract
BACKGROUND:Bone cement is used for ossicular chain repair and revision stapes surgery. Its efficient use requires cautious removal of mucosa from the ossicles. This paper reports a technique for easy, fast and safe removal of this mucosa prior to cement application. It consists of the application of monopolar electrocoagulation on the ossicles prior to bone cement application.METHODS:The outcomes of six cases of revision stapes surgery and seven cases of partial ossiculoplasty, conducted between 2007 and 2012 using this new technique, were evaluated. Intra-operative reports and audiometric data were collected.RESULTS:During the last assessment, reconstruction using bone cement resulted in mean post-operative air-bone gaps of 4.1 ± 6.5 dB in revision stapes surgery cases and 5.7 ± 5.5 dB in partial ossiculoplasty cases, reflecting a significant hearing improvement (p = 0.03). No complications were observed.CONCLUSION:Electrocoagulation allows the removal of mucosa from the ossicles in an easy, fast and safe manner, enabling the use of bone cement for ossicular chain reconstruction.