Abstract:

Surgical treatment of eustachian tube dysfunction is still challenging. Placement of a transtympanic ventilation tube may not be successful and may require multiple applications. We presented a 47-year-old male patient with chronic recurrent otitis media with effusion and retraction due to eustachian tube dysfunction, in whom the number of previous transtympanic tube insertions amounted to 18. He underwent laser assisted eustachian tuboplasty in both ears with endoscopic guidance under general anesthesia. The mucosal, submucosal, and partially the cartilaginous tissues in the posterior pillow of the nasopharyngeal orifice of the eustachian tube were ablated by Nd: YAG and holmium: YAG laser. Following surgery, air conduction thresholds decreased from 37 dB to 22 dB, and from 38 dB to 33 dB for the right and left ears, respectively. The preoperative tympanogram curve, which was of type B for both ears was found as type C-1 on the right side, and type C-2 on left. Limited improvement seen in the left ear was ascribed to insufficient ablation of the posterior pillow of the eustachian tube. No complications were encountered within a follow-up of 12 months.

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