The effect of age on ossiculoplasty results: A retrospective evaluation of 60 cases

There are only a few studies evaluating ossiculoplasty results in the pediatric age group. Although the effect of different factors on the results of ossiculoplasty is investigated, the effect of age on ossiculoplasty results is not known. In this study, the effect of age on ossiculoplasty results has been investigated.This retrospective clinical study was performed in 60 patients (30 female, 30 male; mean age 15.5±14.3 years, range 9-57 years) who underwent ossiculoplasty. The cases were divided into two groups according to their age. Group A consisted of pediatric cases younger than 18 years of age and group B consisted of adult subjects (18 years). The comparison of the groups was made by taking into consideration the air-bone gap in the 3rd and 12th weeks of the pre- and postoperative period.There was no statistically significant difference between preoperative air-bone gaps of the groups (p=0.086). In the third postoperative month, the air-bone gap gain of group A was statistically significantly higher than group B (p=0.0001). The air-bone gap gain of group A was significantly higher than group B in the postoperative 12th month (p=0.026). The air-bone gap gain of the patients with malleus in group A and group B was higher in the postoperative 3rd month than in the patients without malleus (all p values0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the air-bone gap gain in patients with the stapes suprastructure and the air-bone gap gain of the patients without stapes suprastructure in group A and group B in the postoperative 3rd month (p values0.05).The results of ossiculoplasty were found better in the pediatric age group. We think that ossiculoplasty should be carried out without delay in the pediatric age group.