Use of Endoscopes for Chronic Ear Surgery in Children

Objective: To determine whether an endoscopic second-look examination of the mastoid and middle ear could replace an open second-look mastoidectomy. Design: Patients were examined endoscopically. The findings were compared with a standard open mastoidectomy procedure during the same operation. The mastoid can be inspected through a small postauricular incision and the middle ear can be inspected through a myringotomy incision or tympanomeatal flap. Patients: Ten patients aged 6 to 16 years. Results: Endoscopic findings correlated exactly with open mastoidectomy findings in all cases. Conclusion: In light of this study an open second-look mastoidectomy may be avoided if minimal or no recurrent cholesteatoma is found during the endoscopic exploration. The use of the ridged endoscope has added another dimension to the standard microsurgical techiques used in pediatric otology. The indications, techniques, and findings of otoendoscopy in the management of chronic otitis media in children will be presented.