Introduction
Stapedotomy is considered as an efficient and safe surgical option in
the treatment of stapes fixation. It has been shown that
thepostoperative ABG of 10 dB or less (which is defined as surgical
success according to AAO-HNS guidelines(1)) could be achievedin 87-97%
of the cases(2). Although this number has to be considered as a high
success rate, it means that at least one revision is needed in 13-3% of
the surgeries. According to the available data,revision surgeries are
generally more difficult to perform and their audiological results are
inferior to primary surgeries(3).The prevention of primary failureseems
to be themost favorable optionto achievesuperior results.Revision
surgeries offerthe opportunity to recognize the exact reasons behind
unsatisfactory results. According to previous data, intratympanic
adhesion formation is one of the most common finding during revisions(4,
5), but its influence on the hearing results is not clearyet.Our goal
was to indentify the most common and most influential postoperative
reasons during our revison surgeries, causing persistent ABG. We focused
on the mechanical dysfunctions in the middle ear, with special regard to
postoperative fibrosis formation. Our hypothesis wasthat postsurgical
inflammation and scar tissue formation in the middle ear could be the
main reason behind compromised ABG gain.