Revista de medicina pulmonar

Endoscopic ear surgery

Roberto Arias

The endoscopic surgery and the introduction of the endoscope in the ear has enabled us to observe and explore the ear in a better way, obtaining accurate anatomic and functional diagnostics. With this procedure a complex ligament, fold and recess anatomy has been rediscovered, which in another way was impossible to be seen through classic microscopic techniques. Anatomic regions difficult to reach like facial recess, supratubal recess, sinus tympani and the epitympanum among others have also been rediscovered. This technique changed the way we see ear surgery firstly because it is a minimally invasive surgery that uses a natural access as a route of entry like the external auditory canal without having to make an external incision. It results in a lower morbidity, better cosmesis, shorter hospital stays and
a lower number of postoperative complications. With this surgical technique we can perform practically all middle ear surgeries using the endoscope as exclusive instrument and, in a combined way with a microscope, we can perform inner ear and lateral skull base surgeries. We will show different middle ear surgeries to see the advantages and disadvantages of the endoscope ear surgeries.