Audiologic Outcomes of Footplate Drillout for Obliterative Otosclerosis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the audiologic outcomes of microdrill fenestration for obliterative otosclerosis compared to traditional stapedotomy technique. STUDY DESIGN Retrospective chart review. SETTING Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS Adult patients undergoing stapedotomy for otosclerosis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Patients were separated into groups that underwent either microdrill or laser fenestration based on intraoperative severity of disease. Audiologic outcomes and complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS There were 588 ears in 519 patients that were evaluated. There was a significant postoperative improvement in pure tone average, air-bone gap, and mean bone conduction thresholds for both the obliterative and nonobliterative group (p < 0.001). There was no significant difference in the pre- or postoperative hearing status between the two groups. There was no significant difference in complications between the two groups, including no cases of postoperative profound hearing loss in the drill fenestration group. CONCLUSIONS Audiologic outcomes are similar between microdrill fenestration and laser fenestration for otosclerosis. Pure tone average, air-bone gap, and mean bone conduction thresholds all improved postoperatively and were similar between groups.