Wonder

Research Outline

Prepared for Tan | Delivered May 14, 2020

Otosclerosis Research

Goals

To identify which surgeons in the United States have performed more than 50 middle ear surgeries in the last year, and out of those, how many surgeries were specifically for stapedectomy/stapedotomy to include the surgeons name, the number of middle ear surgeries in last 12 months, and the number of stapedectomies/stapedotomies in last 12 months in order to inform a website that helps patients with hearing losses prior to surgery understand the success rates of middle ear surgeries and the experience level of surgeons before surgery.

Early Findings

Our preliminary research on otosclerosis and middle ear surgeries and the overall success rates of these surgeries revealed insights. Here are the key pieces of information we found:
Otosclerosis ResearchThe three types of middle ear surgeries are tympanoplasty, myringotomy, and stapdectomy/stapedotomy.
 Tympanoplasty is a surgical procedure that is performed to repair the ear drum. More than 90% of patients recover from tympanoplasty with no complications.
 Myringotomy is a surgical procedure that creates a small hole in the eardrum so fluids can drain out that often involves inserting ear tubes. 
 Myringotomy is considered to be a relatively safe procedure with a low risk of serious complications. The success rate for for this surgical procedure has ranged from 70-90%.
 Stapes surgery is an outpatient procedure that is done through the ear canal with an operating microscope, or endoscope. It involves removing part (stapedotomy) or all (stapedectomy) of the fixed stapes bone and replacing it with a prosthetic device or implant. 
 Stapes surgeries are generally considered successful in improving hearing for the majority of treated patients. Overall, the success rate for stapes surgeries is over 90%.
 There are many factors that could contribute to the success of these surgeries such as the surgeon’s experience as well as the anatomy and the extent of the otosclerotic focus. Therefore, experts recommend that it is very important to evaluate the success rate of the surgical approach used in each regional center.