Author(s)

Ndivhuwo Diale, Estie Meyer, Tashneem Harris

Division of Otolaryngology, University of Cape Town, Groote Schuur Hospital, Red Cross War Memorial Hospital, Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa.

Background: The objective of cholesteatoma surgery is not only to eradicate disease, but also reduce the risk of recurrence. While the use of the endoscope has been shown to reduce the rate of residual disease, there is currently insufficient data on recidivism and hearing outcomes following exclusive endoscopic use in cholesteatoma ear surgery. Objectives: Auditing outcomes of exclusive endoscopic surgery (EES) for the surgical management of cholesteatoma, with a secondary aim of comparing recidivism and hearing outcomes of 4 different surgical techniques, namely, EES, microscopic canal wall down (CWD), microscopic canal wall up (CWU) and combined endoscopic-microscopic techniques (CEM). Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted at two tertiary academic hospitals in Cape Town, namely, Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital (RCWMH) for patients below13 years and Groote Schuur Hospital (GSH) for patients above 13 years, over a 5 year period, between January 2012 and December 2016. Results: 128 cholesteatoma surgeries overall; 110 patients were from GSH and 18 from RCWMH. Eight RCWMH patients underwent EES, 7 had CWU, 2 had CWD and 1 underwent CEM. Overall recidivism in the RCWMH population was 33% (6/18), 2 underwent EES, 2 underwent a microscopic CWU, 1 had a CWD and 1 underwent CEM. The mean postoperative hearing in this group was 40 dB from 50.3 decibels (dB) preoperatively. In the GSH group, 23 underwent an EES, 42 had a CWU, 40 underwent CWD and 5 underwent CEM. Overall recidivism for the GSH group was 17% (19/110). Of those, 7 underwent EES, 8 underwent microscopic CWU, 1 underwent CWD and 3 underwent CEM. Mean postoperative hearing was 47.4 dB from 48.4 dB preoperatively. Conclusions: The CWD technique demonstrated superior outcomes. In the GSH group, the EES approach had the same recurrence rate as CWU. Much higher recidivism was observed in the RCWMH group. Management of cholesteatoma requires a highly individualized approach to determine the most appropriate surgical treatment paradigm.

Cholesteatoma, Endoscopic, Cholesteatoma Surgery, Recidivism, Outcomes

Diale, N. , Meyer, E. and Harris, T. (2020) Audit of Outcomes of Endoscopic Cholesteatoma Ear Surgery. International Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, 9, 161-179. doi: 10.4236/ijohns.2020.95020.