Stapedectomy Revision in Elderly Patients^†

Objective the objective was to determine the effectiveness of stapedectomy revision in patients 65 years of age or older. Although stapedectomy revision has been discussed in the literature, as well as primary stapedectomy surgery for elderly patients, we could find no study dedicated to stapedectomy revision in elderly patients.

Study Design Retrospective.

Methods One hundred twenty patients 65 years of age or older who had a stapedectomy revision between 1980 and 2001 were included. A randomly selected group of 120 patients younger than 65 years of age who had stapedectomy revision were included for comparison. Audiometric results were compared for the two groups. Surgical findings for each group are also discussed.

Results The mean pure-tone average hearing improvement for each group was 17.6 dB. The success rate was 70.8% for the elderly group and 67.6% for the younger group. Surgical findings during revision in elderly patients were generally the same as those found for younger patients.

Conclusion Advanced age should not be seen as a contraindication to stapedectomy revision.