To Örebro University

OBJECTIVES: This study compares hearing outcomes of two prosthesis materials, bone and titanium, used in ossiculoplasty.

DESIGN: This retrospective nationwide registry-based study uses data systematically collected by the Swedish Quality Registry for Ear Surgery (SwedEar). SETTING: The data were obtained from clinics in Sweden that perform ossiculoplasty.

PARTICIPANTS: Patients who underwent ossiculoplasty using either bone or titanium prostheses were registered in SwedEar between 2013 and 2019.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Hearing outcome expressed as air-bone gap (ABG) gain.

RESULTS: The study found no differences between bone and titanium for ABG or air conduction (AC) for either partial ossicular replacement prostheses (PORP) or total ossicular replacement prostheses (TORP). In a comparison between PORP and TORP for ABG and AC outcomes, regardless of the material used, PORP showed a small advantage, with an additional improvement of 3.3 dB (95% CI [confidence interval], 0.1-4.4) in ABG and 2.2 dB (95% CI, 1.7-4.8) in AC. In secondary surgery using TORP, titanium produced slightly better results for high-frequency pure tone average. The success rate, a postoperative ABG ≤20 dB, was achieved in 62% of the operations for the whole group.

CONCLUSION: Both bone and titanium used to reconstruct the ossicular chain produce similar hearing outcomes for both PORP and TORP procedures. However, titanium may be a preferable option for secondary surgeries involving TORP. The success rate, a postoperative ABG ≤20 dB, is consistent with other studies, but there is room for improvement in patient selection criteria and surgical techniques.