TORP vs round window implant for hearing restoration of patients with extensive ossicular chain defect.

CONCLUSIONS: Round window implant (RWI) with a floating mass transducer (FMT) may be suggested as the first choice in hearing rehabilitation for patients with chronic otitis media (COM) and extensive destruction of the ossicular chain. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the pros and cons of the total ossicular replacement prosthesis (TORP) vs the RWI in restoration of hearing in patients with COM. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirty-eight patients with bilateral moderate to severe mixed or conductive hearing loss from COM without cholesteatoma and bilateral ossicular chain erosion (footplate residual) were alternately assigned to a titanium-TORP (T-TORP) and to RWI with the FMT of the Medel Vibrant Soundbridge (MVBS) located onto the RW niche. The therapeutic efficiency, preoperative vs postoperative air-conduction gain and speech recognition were investigated for the two groups and statistically analyzed at 36 months postoperatively. The following postoperative anatomic conditions were also evaluated for the two groups: 1) recurrence of infection, 2) retraction pocket, 3) extrusion rate, and 4) displacement of the prosthesis. RESULTS: Good functional results and stability at 36 months were obtained with both procedures. The extrusion rates for T-TORP were low. So far no extrusion has been observed for RWI. Hearing results were statistically much better for RWI vs T-TORP for all investigated parameters.