Handicaps of Endoscopic Ear Surgery; do they require a special surgeon to deal with? A Review from the Literature

Introduction:

Endoscopic ear surgery provides many advantages including a wide panoramic view with easy observation of areas around the “corners” in the middle ear cavity. However, those newly introduced techniques suffer from many handicaps that can frightens surgeons who already have practiced exclusively with the microscope from embracing this new technique.

Objectives:

This review of the literature focus on those all handicaps associated with the usage of endoscopes in ear surgery by the newly trained physicians and provide solutions discussed in the literature.

Data Synthesis: Over the past decade, many studies have been published on the overall efficacy of endoscopic ear surgery as compared to the traditional microscopic approach, thus encouraging wider usage of the endoscope. Endoscopic ear surgery provides a wide panoramic view with easy observation of areas around the “corners” in the middle ear cavity decreasing residual disease and recurrence rates when compared to surgeries which used the microscope alone. Also, endoscopic techniques avoid having to make postauricular or endaural incisions. On the other hand, those newly introduced techniques suffer from many handicaps including the inability to use both hands, potential risks of mechanical and thermal trauma and the difficult ability to manage bleeding within the field.

Conclusion:

There is a noticeable continuous challenging learning curve with many handicaps for Endoscopic Ear Surgery. However, all of the discussed handicaps are neglectable problems with experienced trained hands.

Publikationsverlauf

Publikationsdatum:
23. April 2019 (online)