Objective: To evaluate early hearing outcomes using glass ionomer cement to fix the Teflon piston prosthesis onto the long process of incus to minimize residual conductive hearing loss after stapedotomy.
Study design: Original report of prospective randomized control study.
Setting: Tertiary referral center.
Patients: A total of 80 consecutive patients with otosclerosis were randomized into two groups. Group A is a control group in which 40 patients underwent small fenestra stapedotomy using the classic technique. Group B included 40 patients who were subjected to small fenestra stapedotomy with fixation of the incus-prosthesis junction with glass ionomer bone cement.
Interventions: Stapedotomy with the classical technique in group A and the alternative technique in group B.
Primary outcome measure: The audiometric results before and after surgery.
Results: Analysis of the results was performed using the paired t test to compare between pre and postoperative results. χ test was used to compare the results of the two groups. A p value less than 0.05 was considered significant from the statistical standpoint. Significant postoperative improvement of both pure-tone air conduction thresholds and air-bone gaps were reported in the two studied groups. The postoperative average residual air-bone gap and hearing gain were statistically significant in group B (p < 0.05) compared with group A.
Conclusion: The use of glass ionomer bone cement in primary otosclerosis surgery using the aforementioned prosthesis and the surgical technique is of significant value in producing maximal closure of the air-bone gap and better audiological outcomes.