Optimization of Intraoperative Imaging Protocol to Confirm Placement of Cochlear Implant Electrodes.

Objectives: The need to intraoperatively confirm correct placement of the active electrode of a cochlear implant may occur in various clinical settings. These include a malformed cochlea, difficulty with insertion, or suboptimal or abnormal electrical responses (impedance or evoked action potentials) obtained during intraoperative testing. Frustration with inconsistent images using portable x-ray machines prompted this study to determine the technique needed to reliably image the electrode within the cochlea.

Imaging in the Diagnosis and Management of Necrotizing Otitis Externa: A Survey of Practice Patterns.

Objective: To survey neurotologists and head and neck radiologists regarding use of imaging in the diagnosis and management of necrotizing otitis externa (NOE).

Study Design: Cross-sectional survey study.

Setting: Online survey distributed through email to specialty society membership lists.

Development of an evidence-based decision pathway for vestibular schwannoma treatment options.

Objective: To integrate multiple sources of clinical information with patient feedback to build evidence-based decision support model to facilitate treatment selection for patients suffering from vestibular schwannomas (VS).

Methods: This was a mixed methods study utilizing focus group and survey methodology to solicit feedback on factors important for making treatment decisions among patients. Two 90-minute focus groups were conducted by an experienced facilitator.

Robot assisted stapedotomy ex vivo with an active handheld instrument.

Micron is a fully handheld active micromanipulator that helps to improve position accuracy and precision in microsurgery by cancelling hand tremor. This work describes adaptation, tuning, and testing of the Micron system for stapedotomy, a microsurgical procedure performed in the middle ear to restore hearing that requires accurate manipulation in narrow spaces. Two end-effectors, a handle, and a brace (or rest) were designed and prototyped.

Jellyfish model for ototoxicity.

Objective: Pharmacologic ototoxicity is well described in the medical literature, yet efficient screening models are lacking. Aurelia aurita ephyrae, transparent jellyfish with identifiable hair cells, could be an effective model. Structural changes readily manifest behaviorally, and hair cells are easily stained and observed.

Analysis of hearing preservation after endolymphatic mastoid sac surgery for Meniere's disease.

Objectives/hypothesis: Comparison of audiometric outcomes between patients with definite Meniere's disease who underwent endolymphatic mastoid sac surgery (EMSS) following failed medical therapy and patients who underwent medical therapy only.

Study Design: Retrospective chart review of 456 consecutive patients between 1997 and 2006.

Methods: Outcome measures were changes in pure-tone average (PTA), word recognition score (WRS), and speech reception threshold (SRT).